Mountain View, California — For the first time ever, Google has launched a global online “Google Science Fair” for students aged 13 to 18 from around the globe, having an Internet connection and a Google account to take part in the competitive event. So all ye whizkid get ready for some serious global competition.
At the recent 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the CEOs of GE, Cisco Systems, and Xerox worried that America’s K-12 education system was failing to prepare students for the demands of the technology industry. Thus the search engine giant embarked in search for the brightest young scientists from around the world to submit interesting, creative projects relevant to the world today.
The company has forged alliance with the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN), the LEGO Group, National Geographic and Scientific American to make the project possible.
“You may have participated in local or regional science fairs where you had to be in the same physical space to compete with kids in your locality. Now any student with an idea can participate from anywhere, and share their idea with the world,” Google wrote in a blog post.
Google will be putting that proposition to the test. It has launched the Google Science Fair, an online science competition that is open to students around the world, or most of it anyway.
The Google Global Science Fair 2011 is open to students aged between 13-18 years old, working solo or in groups of up to three. However, students from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Myanmar/Burma, Syria, Zimbabwe or any other country facing U.S. sanctions need not apply.
Moreover, students are expected to conduct an experiment in one of 11 suggested areas, record their observations, and present them on their Google Site project page, within the boundaries laid out by the contest rules.
According to Google, students can take part in the fair by submitting their own hypothesis, create an experiment to test it, and present the results and conclusion online in either a two-minute video or a 20-slide presentation. From each of three age groups — 13-14, 15-16, and 17-18, one finalist will be selected. Also, current entries from offline local science fairs will also be accepted when embedded into Google’s application.
There is also the language barrier or requirement: All entries must be submitted in English, or in German, Italian, Spanish, or French with an English translation for the judges.
“Our hope is to create a new way for millions of students to pursue their interest in science through a global online competition,” said Tom Oliveri, director of global marketing for Google Apps and Enterprise, in a phone interview.
“Kids can be just terrific at doing science,” said Mariette DiChristina, Scientific American’s editor in chief, who served as emcee for the launch event and is one of the contest’s judges. Young people ask great questions, offer fresh viewpoints, and bring “energy to learn, a passion to learn and a drive to learn,” DiChristina said. “What if we harnessed that kid power to tackle our problems as a nation and around the globe?”
The search engine leader is awarding 12 prizes, including the grand prize of a 10-day trip to the Galapagos with National Geographic Explorer and a Google scholarship worth $50,000. Selected winners will also receive internship opportunities with the sponsors, said Google.
Parental permission or authorization is required. Registration is open through April 4, 2011 for students to submit their projects.
Once the submission is over, Google said it will declare 60 global semifinalists in early May, whose projects will be posted online and open to public voting for a “People’s Choice Award”. Later on, 15 global finalists will be announced who will come to Google headquarters in California for a science fair event.
After multiple rounds of judging by “a panel of acclaimed scientists including Nobel Laureates, tech visionaries and household names,” to winnow the field down to semifinalists and then finalists, the winner of the contest — and all the prizes that entails — will be announced in July.
If you meet the participation criteria, you can register here.
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For instructions on how to enter or to learn more information about the Google Science Fair, visit www.google.com/events/sciencefair or watch the videos below.