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.
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