Triangle Coalition member, the American Geological Institute (AGI), is sponsoring three national contests in conjunction with Earth Science Week 2010, celebrating the theme of "Exploring Energy," October 10-16. For more information on these contests including guidelines, deadlines, and how to submit your entry, visit www.earthsciweek.org/contests

Guidelines

• Videos should be short (approximately 3-4 minutes)
• The video should relate to a specific project on the NLD site
• Up to two video links can be sent
• One video documenting the work and preparation leading up to the project (optional)
• One video capturing the project event (required) - this should include footage of the students carrying out the project
• The video should contain some form of oration/explanation of what is taking place
• Please upload your video on either YouTube or Vimeo and submit the link(s) to contest@nationallabday.org. Submit any questions related to the video contest to this email.
• All submissions are due by June 1st, 2010. National Lab Day will be responsible for judging and determining the winning entries.

Prizes

• The first place winner will receive a $1,500 DonorsChoose.org Gift Card* and a Flip Video Camcorder
• The second place winner will receive a $500 DonorsChoose.org Gift Card* and a Flip Video Camcorder
• The third place winner will receive a $100 DonorsChoose.org Gift Card* and a Flip Video Camcorder

The 24th annual DuPont Challenge© Science Essay Competition

Deadline: 03/01/2010

Award:
500 words for grades 3 - 5
750 words for grades 6 - 8
1000 words for grades 9 - 12

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) launched the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), a historic opportunity for students to propose experiments for the final scheduled flight of the Space Shuttle, STS-134. SSEP provides middle and high school classes across the nation the ability to propose experiments to fly in low Earth orbit, and to celebrate that accomplishment with their local community and with national and global audiences. Entire school districts can participate, with student teams proposing experiments like professional scientists and engineers. Selected student experiments would fly for 10 days aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. For more information about the program, visit the NCESSE website.

The Christopher Columbus Award is a national, community-based science and technology program for middle school students. The program challenges the students to work in teams of three to four, with an adult coach, to identify a problem in their community and apply the scientific method to create an innovative solution to that problem.

Eligibility: Middle School students

Deadline: February 8, 2010

Awards: Eight finalist teams and their coaches will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney World® to attend National Championship Week and compete for valuable U.S. Savings Bonds and the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant, plus a $200 development grant to further refine their idea.

Video Contest for High School Science Students

We are pleased to announce this exciting contest for high school classrooms!

To spark students' interest in learning more about biomedical research and to encourage future generations of researchers, the Life Sciences Learning Center (LSLC) of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and Time Warner Cable (TWC) have joined to challenge area high school science classrooms to create a 30-second video message on "what research means to me." The winning entry will be broadcast as a public service announcement on Time Warner Cable channels and posted online and first, second and third-place winners will also receive prizes of science equipment and free trips to the LSLC.

Instructions for entering the "What Research Means to Me" contest can be found at www.whatresearchmeanstome.org and include a link for viewing a two-minute video on biomedical research at URMC. Teachers can submit one entry for each of their science classes. Entries can be submitted in video format (on CD or as a YouTube link) or as a storyboard. Storyboard samples can also be found at www.whatresearchmeanstome.org.

Prizes will be awarded based on cohesiveness of the message, originality and creativity. Entries will be judged by experts from URMC. The deadline for submitting entries is January 15, 2010 and the winners will be announced March 1, 2010. The first prize winning class will have their 30-second video produced and broadcast on TWC.

Contest prizes are:

First prize: Televised broadcast on TWC of the winning video and $1,000 toward the purchase of science equipment for the winning school; a VIP visit and tour of URMC and LSLC, including lunch and a question and answer session with scientists and LSLC faculty and staff.

Second prize: $500 toward the purchase of science equipment for their school and two complimentary class trips to participate in LSLC programs.

Third prize: $250 for toward the purchase of science equipment for their school and one complimentary class trip to participate in LSLC programs.

The contest is a partnership to further the mission of the LSLC to promote science education through community outreach to area students and TWC's recent initiative to address America's continuing decline in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. The format of the contest will also serve to invite students to use technology to convey their message.


For further information and contest rules, visit www.whatresearchmeanstome.org or email whatresearchmeanstome@urmc.rochester.edu.

The First Annual Finger Lakes Science Fair will be held at the Scandling Student Center on April 28th, 2011 in the Vandervort Room on the HWS campus. Any high school student in the region is allowed to compete in the science fair. Faculty and science alums from HWS will judge the fair. Students are expected to showcase in a poster presentation original research on a topic related to the Finger Lakes environment and watershed. They may want to integrate their findings from the SOS program. The Finger Lakes Institute will provide the instructions and funding to print the posters in a 2'x3' format and will establish a wiki page to assist students in finding research, acess to data, and to answer other questions. Students will be competing for a number of awards at the science fair including three Faculty Scholarship awards of $15,000 each from Hobart and William Smith as mentioned above. Further information about the science fair will become available in the fall. To obtain an application for a stipend for travel (between $250-$500 per district) and admission/judging criteria for the science fair, contact Sheila Myers at smyers@hws.edu.

Deadline: January15, 2010, for notice of intent to apply.
                   Entries Due: May 3, 2010

Funds: All awards are subject to available funds. We expect to award cash prizes or Internships to ELIGIBLE students.

Grants from the Captain Planet Foundation

The Captain Planet Foundation funds and supports hands-on environmental projects for children and youths ages 6-18. Its objective is to encourage innovative programs that empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and communities. Grant amounts range from $250 to $2,500. Deadlines for submitting grant applications are June 30, September 30, and December 31. For more information, visit the Captain Planet Foundation website.

The research advisor of the winner will receive a check for $500 to help cover travel expenses to the AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting where they will be presented a certificate of recognition. Additionally the hotel stay for up to five nights will be paid for through the award.

High school students in the United States are invited to participate in NASA's Interdisciplinary National Science Program Incorporating Research Experience, or INSPIRE, through the program's online learning community. Applications are being accepted through June 30. NASA will make selections for the program in September. Selectees and their parents will participate in an online learning community with opportunities to interact with peers, NASA engineers, and scientists. The online community also provides appropriate grade level educational activities, discussion boards, and chat rooms for participants to gain exposure to careers and opportunities available at NASA.

Students selected for the program will have the option to compete for unique grade-appropriate experiences during the summer of 2011 at NASA facilities and participating universities. INSPIRE is designed to encourage students in ninth through 12th grades to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM. The summer experience provides students with a hands-on opportunity to investigate education and careers in those disciplines. INSPIRE is part of NASA's education strategy to attract and retain students in the STEM disciplines critical to NASA's missions. For information about INSPIRE, visit www.nasa.gov/education/INSPIRE

For information about NASA's education programs, visit www.nasa.gov/education

Math for America Fellowship Program

Math for America (MfA) based in New York, primarily funded by billionaire hedge fund manager Jim Simons, pays for mathematicians to earn a master's degree in teaching, and gives an additional $90,000 stipend over five years to supplement their public school salaries

Making Math Pay

The MfA Fellowship program seeks recent college graduates and mid-career professionals who:

• Know and love math
• Enjoy working with teens
• Possess excellent communication skills
• Have a strong interest in a career in teaching

For more information visit the Math for America website.

NYS Math and Science Teaching Incentive

New York State Math & Science Teaching Incentive Scholarships are offered to encourage students to pursue careers as secondary math and science teachers (grades 7-12). 



Eligibility:

• Be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens
• Be attending a college located in NYS
• Be matriculated in an approved undergraduate or graduate program at a degree granting institution in NYS leading to a career as a secondary education math or science teacher.
• Have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 or higher
• Execute a Service Contract in which they agree to work for five years as a secondary school math or science teacher
• Not have a service obligation under another program.
• Not be in default of a student loan.

Deadline: March 15, 2010

Funds:
Recipients shall receive an annual award for full-time study equal to the annual tuition charged to NYS resident students attending an undergraduate program at the State University of New York, or actual tuition charged, whichever is less. The maximum annual award for the 2007-08 academic year is $4,375.

Recycle, reuse, and re-engineer everyday materials into an out-of-the box invention. Your invention should
• move things or people, or
• protect the environment, or
• be used for indoor or outdoor play.

Three winners will come to
Boston to see their designs built by Continuum, a design consultancy. Winners will appear on the Design Squad show and Web site.

25 FINALISTS will be featured on the Design Squad Web site.

For ages 5-19. Enter online from April 5 to September 5, 2010

The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge consists of six easy steps:

• Step 1: Choose It! Student teams of 2-3 conduct research to learn about the issues that affect their community and select one issue that they truly want to impact.
• Step 2: Research It! Students access a variety of resources to learn all they can about their issue and develop a problem statement that explains why and how it is a problem in their community.
• Step 3: Plan It! Students propose a feasible, measurable solution to positively impact their issue and an action plan to help them carry it out.
• Step 4: Do It! Students work together to implement their action plan.
• Step 5: Analyze It! Students explain what they've found out so far.
• Step 6: Share It! Students make recommendations for how their plan can be replicated or expanded in similar communities across the nation.