WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This week, science students from across the United States and Canada will travel to Washington, D.C. to be honored for their achievements as national winners of the 24th annual ExploraVision program, the world’s largest K-12 science competition. Sponsored by Toshiba and administered by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the ExploraVision competition challenges students to use scientific research to imagine future technologies that will solve problems in our world.
On Thursday, June 9, the eight winning teams of the competition will spend the day on Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and their staff as they exhibit their winning projects during a STEM Education Science Fair. They will also participate in a Senate panel to discuss the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education with policymakers.
On Friday, June 10, the student teams will formally present their projects during the ExploraVision Science Showcase at the National Press Club. The celebration will culminate that evening with the ExploraVision Gala Awards Banquet, where special guests from Toshiba and NSTA will honor the teams’ creativity and achievements.
The ExploraVision competition encourages students to expand their imaginations and practice their teamwork, problem-solving and creative-thinking skills, while further developing an interest in STEM. Students of all ages are asked to think ahead 20 years into the future and propose an idea for a new technology based on a challenge or limitation of what exists today. (See below for complete list of winning projects.)
STEM Education Science Fair and Panel
The STEM Education Science Fair will take place on Thursday, June 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building. Students will showcase their projects and prototypes to members of Congress and their staff.
The Senate STEM Panel will feature ExploraVision student winners, teachers and mentors, all of whom will share their experiences in the competition, discuss the importance of STEM education, and answer questions from members of the audience in G-50 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Science Showcase and Gala Awards Banquet
During the Science Showcase on Friday, June 10, the eight student teams will display their innovative prototypes and self-designed project websites to visually demonstrate their proposed solutions. The students will present to members of the press, their peers, parents, educators, NSTA board and council members, and leaders in education policy, including Melissa Moritz, Deputy Director of STEM at the US Department of Education; and Joyce Ward; Intellectual Property Attorney, Education Coordinator, Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property & Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Science Showcase will also be attended by several leaders of the NSTA, including Dr. Mary Gromko, President; and Dr. David Evans, Executive Director; Dr. Arthur Eisenkraft, ExploraVision Co-Creator and Head Judge; and Mr. John Anderson, President, Toshiba America Foundation.
At the Gala Awards Banquet that evening, speakers will include Bill Nye “The Science Guy,” Dr. Arthur Eisenkraft; Dr. Naoto Nishida, Corporate Executive Vice President and General Executive, Research & Development Division, Toshiba Corporation; Dr. Mary Gromko, NSTA President; and Dr. Eleanor Ross, former ExploraVision winner and a practicing pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Hospital in Chicago.
More Than Just a Science Competition
More than 4,000 team projects were entered in the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision competition this year, representing nearly 15,000 students from across the United States and Canada. This year’s winning projects ranged from a magnesium-infused bulletproof vest to an edible water bottle.
Members of the four first place ExploraVision national winning teams will each receive a $10,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond (at maturity). Members of the second place national winning teams will each receive a $5,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond (at maturity). Canadian winners will receive bonds purchased for the equivalent issue price in Canadian dollars.
The Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision program, is open to all K-12 U.S. and Canadian students who are citizens or legal residents, and is just one of a host of Toshiba-sponsored programs that encourage STEM literacy. For example, past ExploraVision participants in grades 8-11, as well as NSTA-member high school teachers are eligible to apply to the TOMADACHI Toshiba Science & Technology Leadership Academy, a week-long, cross-cultural exchange program where students and teachers from Japan and the United States work in teams to develop proposed solutions to global issues using learning experiences that are central to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). To learn more about the eight students, four teachers and two teaching assistants who will travel to Tokyo in August for this opportunity, visit http://www.toshiba.com/csr/education_tomodachi_stem.jsp.
For more information or to access an application for the 2016/2017 program, visit www.exploravision.org or e-mail exploravision@nsta.org. Follow ExploraVision on Twitter at @ToshibaInnovate or join the ExploraVision Facebook Fan Page at www.Facebook.com/ToshibaInnovation.
Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision 2016 National Winners
2016 First Place Winners
Grade
K–3: The Tick Detective
Bayville Intermediate, Bayville,
N.Y.
Website: http://nstawebdirector.wix.com/thetickdetective
Grade 4–6: Hubble NEST (Next Elimination of Space Trash)
Locust
Valley Intermediate School, Locust Valley, N.Y.
Website: http://nstawebdirector.wix.com/hubblenest
Grade 7–9: Bulletproof Vests
Rothesay Netherwood
School, Rothesay, New Brunswick
Website: http://dev.nsta.org/evwebs/2195g/
Grade 10–12: BEISight: Bionic Eye Implant for Sight
University
Laboratory High School, Urbana, Ill.
Website: http://dev.nsta.org/evwebs/2638b/
2016 Second Place Winners
Grade
K–3: Triple-E: Edible, Electrolyte Balanced, Eco-Friendly Water Bottle
Chapman
Hill, Salem, Ore.
Website: http://dev.nsta.org/evwebs/1458a/
Grade 4–6: A.P.P.: Anti-Paralysis Procedure
The
Village School, Houston, Texas
Website: http://nstawebdirector.wix.com/app-ex-1
Grade 7–9: The VISOR: A Neuro-olfaction Device for Perceiving
Smell Remotely
Arlington High School, Lagrangeville, N.Y.
Website:
http://dev.nsta.org/evwebs/3978m/
Grade 10–12: Intra-Neuromuscular Cellular Regeneration Promoter
Plainview-Old
Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, Plainview, N.Y.
Website:
http://dev.nsta.org/evwebs/4804b/
About Toshiba
Founded in 1965, Toshiba America, Inc. (TAI) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Toshiba Corporation and the holding company of six Toshiba operating companies that offer a broad range of products and solutions for the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. The six companies, which along with TAI are known collectively as Toshiba America Group, are Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (Semiconductor and storage solutions), Toshiba America Energy Systems, Corp. (Power generation solutions), Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (Digital products), Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Inc. (Nuclear power solutions), Toshiba International Corporation (Industrial, power electronics & transmission & distribution solutions), and Toshiba America Research, Inc. (R&D).
For more information visit www.toshiba.com
About NSTA
The Arlington, VA-based National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. NSTA's current membership includes approximately 55,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.
