ARLINGTON, VA, March 7, 2011 – The 19th annual Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards Program today announced its 2011 Regional Winners. Sponsored by Toshiba and administered by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the ExploraVision program is the world’s largest K –12 science and technology competition, challenging students to design innovative technologies that could exist in 20 years. The program will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2012, and since its inception, more than 287,000 students have participated. Toshiba has awarded more than $2.5 million worth of savings bonds and prizes. This year the program received 4,346 team entries representing the participation of 13,387 students from across the US and Canada, and regional winning projects reflected in-depth research in scientific fields ranging from GPS and nanotechnology to stem cell and gene research, solar and wind energy technologies and others. (See enclosed document for complete list of winning entries.)
Teacher Survey Shows Overwhelming Positive Results for STEM Education in the Classroom ExploraVision immerses students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. This year, results of a teacher survey sent to all participating educators showed overwhelmingly that they consider the program a valuable tool for inspiring students. For instance, in response to the questions: “Did the competition enhance your teaching of science?” and “As a result of the competition, have you seen an improvement in student attitudes towards science?,” almost 90% of teachers answered affirmatively to both. When asked: “As a result of this competition, have your students learned to work better collaboratively?,” 100% of respondents answered yes.
The program selects winners based on how they combine imagination with the tools of real scientific research to envision future technologies that could realistically exist in 20 years. Students learn by presenting their project ideas in ways that reflect modern scientific methods, examining problems and deriving solutions the same way scientists do and considering the positive and negative consequences to their proposed ideas. At the regional judging level, a panel of 56 judges—including science educators, scientists and engineers—evaluates the written entries and chooses the 24 Regional Winners.
Noted Mr. Yoshihide Fujii, Chairman and CEO of Toshiba America, Inc.: “In today’s world, the need for creative thinking combined with the tools of science and technology is essential for helping build a better future. As a company that has always placed the very highest priority on innovation and technology, Toshiba is proud that ExploraVision is a central pillar of our educational initiative in North America. It is our way of helping to inspire young people in the important fields of science and technology and to seek further innovation themselves.”
“It is both exciting and inspiring to see our young generation so dedicated to developing innovative solutions to how our society can do things better and more efficiently through science and technology,” said Dr. Francis Eberle, Executive Director of NSTA. “We congratulate the regional winning teams and commend all the teachers and mentors for encouraging and supporting their students to explore science while helping to expand their knowledge and vision.”
What Today’s Young People See in Store for the Future
Perhaps reflecting on First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to encourage healthier eating, a team of 3rd grade students from North Reading, MA, envisioned a smart approach to eating and diet with The Nutri-Fridge, a futuristic refrigerator that not only monitors what foods are inside, but which are eaten regularly by which family member, and even provides recommendations throughout the day to help ensure that everyone is healthy! Another 3rd grade team from Edinburg, TX came up with an idea for making the roads safer with i.streets, a new type of “intelligent street” traffic control system that would utilize a “smart translucent film” to be placed on a car’s windshield and receive signals from either traffic lights or satellites to signal drivers how to proceed in busy intersections (go, caution or stop).
Sustainability: “Green” Ideas to Help People and the Environment
As the world looks for ways to generate clean energy, a team comprised of 2nd-3rd grade students envisioned a potential solution for “growing” power with The Solar Tree, which features “leaves” made of nanotubes, protein and purple bacteria and is capable of harvesting both solar and wind energy. Tapping into worldwide concerns about water pollution following the devastation in the Gulf oil spill, a team of 2nd grade students from San Diego came up with the idea for The Water Cleaner Upper!, a pollution-fighting boat equipped with solar and wind power that would use magnets to clean up paper, plastic and aluminum cans, and a filter to clean up oil. Once the boat is full, it would turn into a recycling center.
Innovative Medical Technologies and Treatments
As always, many of the ExploraVision students put on their thinking caps to come up with innovative new approaches for new medical technologies and treatments. The field of nanotechnology inspired a team of 12th grade students from Durham, NC, to envision TSNa: Telomerase Specific Nanobots, a new cancer treatment that would specifically target diseased cells and leave healthy ones alone. Gyro Balance, envisioned by a team of 11th grade students from Toronto, Ontario, poses a solution to “vestibular disorder,” which usually resulting in problems with balance. The device would employ a system of gyroscopes and accelerometers to receive information from the brain and offer corrective measures to literally keep wearers on an even keel.
A team of high school seniors from San Diego, CA thought of P.A.J. (Pseudopancreatic Autograft Jejunum) that takes a novel approach to the treatment of diabetes, foregoing the conventional insulin injections for a more liberating treatment that would utilize special insulin-producing yeast and tissue from a portion of the small intestine (jejunum) to create a virtual insulin-producing “pancreas” in the patient’s body. 9th grade students from Miami, FL, envisioned the Chrisdilabyotomy, a surgical procedure that would use advanced sensors and stimulants to treat patients whose vocal chords have been paralyzed, allowing them to speak again.
Other innovative concepts included the Heads Up! Helmet, a new type of military helmet designed by a team of two 6th grade and two 5th grade students in Herndon, VA, that would proactively respond to explosions from battlefield Improvised Explosive Devices (I.E.D.s) and help protect U.S. soldiers from traumatic brain injuries. And finally, a team of 4th grade students from Sanford, FL envisioned the Hair Farm, a process that would actually grow human hair without a human, allowing cancer patients and others suffering from hair loss to enjoy full locks.
About the ExploraVision Program
ExploraVision challenges students, working in teams of two to four, to research scientific principles and current technologies as the basis for designing innovative technologies that could exist in 20 years. With its multi-level, imaginative and fun approach to learning, the program is designed to appeal to a broad range of students of all interest, skill and ability levels. As a testament to the program’s value as an educational tool, many teachers across the country now incorporate ExploraVision into their regular science curriculum, and for many former ExploraVision winners, the program has served as encouragement to pursue further science-related careers.
On to the National Phase of Competition
This year’s 24 regional winners will now move on to the national phase of the ExploraVision competition, where they will compete to be named among the eight national winner teams, including four first-place and four second-place winners. Students on the four first-place ExploraVision national winner teams will each receive a $10,000 US Series EE Savings Bond valued at maturity. Students on second-place teams will each receive a $5,000 Savings Bond valued at maturity. (Canadian winners receive Canada Bonds purchased for the equivalent issue price in Canadian dollars.) The eight teams will also receive an expenses-paid trip with their families, mentor, and coach to Washington, DC for a gala awards weekend in June 2011. Activities will include a visit to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress and a Science Showcase during which the students will display and demonstrate their winning ideas. Each of the 24 regional winning teams receives a Toshiba laptop for the school and each member of the regional winning teams will receive a Toshiba HD Camcorder.
For more information or an application for 2012, visit www.exploravision.org or e-mail exploravision@nsta.org. Follow ExploraVision on Twitter at @exploravision or join the ExploraVision Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/ToshibaNSTAExploraVision.
About Toshiba
The Tokyo-based Toshiba Corporation is a leading innovator and diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products, spanning information and communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and materials, power systems, industrial and social infrastructure systems, and household appliances. Toshiba employs over 14,000 people in North America and Toshiba America, Inc., is the holding company for five Toshiba operating companies in the United States.
Toshiba’s U.S.-based companies and some of their chief products are as follows: Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (Semiconductors, Flash Memory-Based Storage Solutions, LCD, and custom chips); Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (Laptop Computers, Hard Disk Drives, Telephony Products, Flat Panel LCD TVs, and portable products); Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. (Copiers, Facsimiles, Printers); Toshiba International Corporation (Motors, Motor Controls, Power Electronics, Power Generation Equipment, Automation); Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. (Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance, X-ray and Ultrasound); Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corporation (Advanced Boiling Water Nuclear Reactors); Toshiba America Foundation (Supports science and mathematics education across the United States) and Toshiba of Canada, Ltd. (Made up of four operating divisions).
About NSTA
The Arlington, VA-based National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), www.nsta.org, 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 60,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.
Contact:
Lisa Cazzola DBA Public Relations (212) 388-1400 lcazzola@dba-pr.com
Kate Falk National Science Teachers Association (703) 312-9211 kfalk@nsta.org
