OSGC Educational Resources Blog

By Kids For Kids (BKFK) http://www.bkfk.com/  hosts four quarterly competitons each year for K-12 students in the United States. Prizes vary by contest and include $10,000 awards for each competition and challenge specific trips or products. Free teaching materials are available for educators at the following link:
http://www.bkfk.com/Modules/Teachers/TeachersLanding.aspx

Details regarding each challenge are available at the following links:

Advertise your Cause Challenge
Say It is for teens who want to speak out loud. This season, we challenge them to create an advertising campaign for a cause.
http://www.bkfk.com/Modules/Competition/Competition.aspx?section=sayit

2008 Trash to Treasure Competition
Build It is for gadget gurus and young people who love to build products. This season, inspire your teen to turn their trash to treasure.
http://www.bkfk.com/Modules/Competition/Competition.aspx?section=buildit  

Cosmo Girl MYOB Entrepreneurial Challenge
Design It provides a place for designers, artists & decorators. This season, female moguls can enter their business idea or plan to start off their dream project.
http://www.bkfk.com/Modules/Competition/Competition.aspx?section=designit

A2Z Animal Challenge
Change It is for teens who want to change the world. This season, animal lovers can enter ideas for new ways to improve the life of a pet or an animal.
http://www.bkfk.com/Modules/Competition/Competition.aspx?section=changeit

The Cassini Scientist for a Day contest challenges students to become NASA scientists studying Saturn. Participants are challenged to examine three target images taken by Cassini and choose the one that they think will yield the best scientific results. This choice must then be explained in a 500-word essay.

The contest is open to all students in the United States from grades 5-12, working alone or in groups of up to four students. The essays will be divided into three groups: grades 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12. All submissions must be students’ original work. Each student can submit only one entry.

Deadline for Spring 2008 submissions is noon Pacific time (3 p.m. EDT) on May 8, 2008 .
For more information, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientist/

Discovery Education and 3M are proud to partner with NASA for the 2008 Young Scientist Challenge. Currently in its 10th year, the YSC encourages the exploration of science among America’s youth and promotes the importance of science communication at a critical age when interest in science begins to decline.

The challenge sponsors are looking for a few great students and teachers who can inspire others with their enthusiasm for science and their ability to communicate. What does it take to be America’s Top Young Scientist or America’s Top Science Teacher? Students in grades 5-8 and teachers of grades K-12 are being asked to create a short (1-2 minute) video about one of this year’s scientific topics, which all relate to this year’s theme, “The Science of Space.” Participants should enter their videos online and will become eligible to win a trip to Washington, D.C., in the fall to compete in the YSC finals at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Science teachers who are interested in participating must be members of the Discovery Educator Network. Becoming a member is easy and registration is free. To become a member, visit http://community.discoveryeducation.com/about/become_discovery_educator

Video topics and registration information can be found online at http://www.discoveryeducation.com/youngscientist

Videos will be accepted through June 15, 2008. Finalists will be announced this summer, and the competition finals will take place Oct. 4-7, 2008.

For more information, log-on to http://www.discoveryeducation.com/youngscientist
Questions about the competition may be sent to YSC@discovery.com

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies is sponsoring an Earth Day photo contest for middle school students. Interested students are asked to photograph something that is changing in their local environment. They are to take the photo between Tuesday, April 22, and Tuesday, April 29. The change could be occurring in the student’s backyard, outside the student’s school, in a local park or even off in the distance. Participants must research and write an explanation of the change documented in the photograph.

The contest is open to all U.S. students in grades 5-8.
Entries must be received by e-mail or postmarked by May 9, 2008.

For more information about the contest and how teachers can use it in the classroom, visit http://www.strategies.org/EarthDayPhoto

In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, OMSI’s Kendall Planetarium is sponsoring an astronomy photo contest. Winning astronomy photos will be published in OMSI’s 2009 Kendall Planetarium astronomy calendar.

Eligibility: The OMSI Planetarium Astronomy Photo Contest is open to amateur photographers of any age.

Photo Criteria: All entries must be taken of a celestial event. Photographs that depict anything not adhering to current celestial events, or which are inappropriate, indecent, or obscene, as determined by OMSI, will be disqualified. All photographs must be original images taken by the entrant and cannot have been previously published.

Contest deadline: March 31 at 5:00 p.m
Complete contest details and entry form available at http://www.omsi.edu/misc/astrocontest/

Dale Lowdermilk, Meteorite Collector and Lecturer with the Santa Barbara Astonomical Unit (SBAU), is conducting an exciting new Astronomy Essay Contest for children and young adults ages 5-18.  Assigned essay questions are based on age groups.  Hand written entries submitted with self addressed, stamped envelopes will receive fragments of stony meteorites!

To Learn more about the contest, including the official rules and essay questions, please visit the contest flyer on the first page of the following website:  http://www.dale93108.com/Meteor.html

Visit the following website for more information about the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, including upcoming events and tips for watching the skies:  http://www.sbau.org/

The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is the highest recognition that a kindergarten through 12th-grade mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States. Enacted by Congress in 1983, this program authorizes the President to bestow up to 108 awards each year. The National Science Foundation administers PAEMST on behalf of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Awards are given to mathematics and science teachers from each of the 50 states and four U.S. jurisdictions. The jurisdictions are Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; Department of Defense Schools; and the U.S. territories as a group (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).The teachers are recognized for their contributions to teaching and learning and their ability to help students make progress in mathematics and science.

In addition to honoring individual achievement, the goal of the award program is to exemplify the highest standards of mathematics and science teaching. Awardees serve as models for their colleagues, inspiration to their communities, and leaders in the improvement of mathematics and science education.

Recipients of the award receive the following:

Applications close on May 1, 2008.  To nominate an outstanding educator or learn more about the awards, please visit http://www.paemst.org/controllers/about.cfc?method=view

The U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative is accepting nominations for 2008 American Stars of Teaching until March 31. Parents, students, colleagues, school administrators and others can nominate an exemplary teacher who they believe has the qualities to be an American Star of Teaching.

We are seeking nominations of teachers across the United States who are improving student achievement, using innovative strategies in the classroom and making a difference in the lives of their students. Teachers across all grade levels and disciplines will be honored as 2008 American Stars of Teaching this fall. To nominate a teacher, go to: http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/tools/initiative/index.html .

The U.S. Department of Education received more than 4,000 nominations for the 2007 school year. A list of previous honorees can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/tools/initiative/american-stars-teachers.html . You can read archived news stories about some of our 2007 American Stars at https://www.t2tweb.us/Updates/Archives.asp .

GES is now accepting entries for the 2008 Thacher Scholars Award, to be given to secondary school students demonstrating the best use of geospatial tools or data to study our home planet. U.S. students in grades 9-12 are eligible for the cash awards. For each winning student, a teacher or designated adult “coach” will receive a $200 gift card. Entries must be postmarked by April 4, 2008. Visit the IGES website for details. http://www.strategies.org/education/index.aspx?sub=education&sub2=scholars&sub3=scholars2008

Today’s pressing environmental problems need innovative solutions.  Scholastic and the American Museum of Natural History invite students in grades 6-10 to submit their winning innovations in the “youinnovate21…It’s Your Environment” challenge.

To enter, students need to write a 300-500 word essay explaining the environmental problem they want to solve, their idea, how it will solve the problem , and how they would let people know about the innovation.  Winning innovations will be selected based on creativity, scientific and practical soundness, writing skills.

The deadline for entries is December 15. Students may enter as an individual or as a class. For complete contest rules, click on the You Innovate button at http://scholastic.com/scienceexplorations