WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Students from across the United States will travel this week to Washington, D.C., where they will be recognized as national winners of the 27th annual ExploraVision program, the world’s largest K-12 science competition. ExploraVision is sponsored by Toshiba and administered by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). This competition is designed to help students develop skills emphasized in the Next Generation Science Standards, including problem-solving, critical-thinking and collaboration skills. To participate, students were challenged to imagine and produce a tool or technology of the future with the potential to solve the world’s critical problems.
On Thurs., June 6, the eight winning teams will exhibit their winning projects at a STEM Celebratory Morning Panel on Capitol Hill. On Fri., June 7, the student teams will formally present their projects during the ExploraVision Science Showcase and Awards Luncheon at the National Press Club. Also in attendance will be special guests from Toshiba and NSTA, who will help honor the teams’ creativity and achievements.
Fostering young minds’ interest in STEM is at the core of Toshiba—a company committed to raising the quality of life for people around the world. This commitment drove the company to partner with NSTA to create the ExploraVision competition in 1992. For 27 years, ExploraVision has helped cultivate the next generation of scientists, technology experts, engineers, mathematicians and more.
STEM Morning Panel
The STEM Morning Panel will take place on Thurs., June 6 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill. Students will have an opportunity to talk about their projects to Members of Congress and their staff.
Science Showcase and Awards Luncheon
During the Science Showcase and Awards Luncheon on Fri., June 7, the eight winning student teams will showcase their prototypes and self-designed project websites. The students will present to members of the press, their peers, parents, educators, NSTA board and council members and leaders in education policy, including Bill Nye the Science Guy; Dr. Dennis Schatz president of NSTA; Dr. David L. Evans, executive director of NSTA; Shinichiro Akiba, corporate senior executive vice president, chairman and CEO, Toshiba Corporation; Leland Melvin, former NASA astronaut and NFL football player and Dr. Shirlee Wohl, a winner of the competition from 2008 and a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
More Than Just a Science Competition
Nearly 4,000 team projects entered the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision competition this year, comprised of close to 12,000 students from across the United States. This year’s winners have gone above and beyond to think critically and creatively about the biggest problems facing our world, with ideas ranging from innovations in physical and mental healthcare, to ideas that foster environmental sustainability and stewardship. Projects include a novel graphene patch which provides noninvasive delivery of specialized therapeutics to repair health after chemo, an effective roofing alternative that reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide and an autonomous drone that uses mechanical and biological means to reduce pollution in the oceans.
The eight national winning teams are comprised of a first-place winner and second-place winner from four groups based on grade level. Members of first-place nationally winning teams each receive a $10,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond (at maturity). Members of second-place nationally winning teams will each receive a $5,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond (at maturity).
For more information or to access an application for the 2019/2020 program, visit http://www.exploravision.org or email exploravision@nsta.org. Follow ExploraVision on Twitter at @ToshibaInnovate or join the ExploraVision Facebook Fan Page at www.Facebook.com/ToshibaInnovation.
Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision 2019 National Winners
2019 First-Place Winners
Grade
K-3: iSuit
Saint Joseph School, Seattle, Washington
Website:
https://nstawebdirector.wixsite.com/isuit
Grade 4-6: Algatiles
Coulson Tough K-6 School, The
Woodlands, Texas
Website: https://www.algatiles.com/
Grade 7-9: Cure for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Infection
The
Nueva High School, San Mateo, California
Website: https://nstawebdirector.wixsite.com/hepativir-b
Grade 10-12: Engineering M. Luteus to Fix the Greenhouse Gases
Methane and Carbon Dioxide
Mission Vista High School,
Oceanside, California
Website: https://nstawebdirector.wixsite.com/modifiedmluteus
2019 Second-Place Winners
Grade
K-3: The APCD (Autonomous Pollution Control Drone)
University
School of Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee
Website: https://nstawebdirector.wixsite.com/apcdproject
Grade 4-6: RMF: Leaves Changing Shapes (Relinquit Mutatio Figura)
Lee
Elementary, Salem, Oregon
Website: https://nstawebdirector.wixsite.com/leaveschangingshapes
Grade 7-9: NewFerro Roads
University of Illinois
Laboratory High School, Urbana, Illinois
Website: https://nstawebdirector.wixsite.com/nfrs
Grade 10-12: Cancer BAN-R: Blood and Nerve Regeneration
Jericho
High School, Jericho, New York
Website: https://nstawebdirector.wixsite.com/ban-r
About Toshiba
Toshiba Corporation leads a global group of companies that combines knowledge and capabilities from over 140 years of experience in a wide range of businesses—from energy and social infrastructure to electronic devices—with world-class capabilities in information processing, digital and AI technologies. These distinctive strengths position Toshiba to become one of the world’s leading cyber-physical-system technology companies. Guided by the Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, “Committed to People, Committed to the Future,” Toshiba contributes to society’s positive development with services and solutions that lead to a better world. The Group and its 129,000 employees worldwide secured annual sales surpassing 3.6 trillion yen (US$33.3 billion) in fiscal year 2018.
About Toshiba America, Inc.
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 seven companies, which along with TAI are known collectively as Toshiba America Group, are Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (Semiconductor solutions), Toshiba America Energy Systems, Corp. (Power generation solutions), Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (Internet of Things and Solutions), Toshiba America LNG Corporation (Liquefied Natural Gas), Toshiba International Corporation (Industrial, power electronics & transmission & distribution solutions) and Toshiba America Research, Inc.(R&D).
About NSTA
The Arlington, VA-based National Science Teachers Association is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence in science teaching and learning, preschool through college. NSTA’s membership includes approximately 50,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business representatives and others involved in science education.