Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge

Posted by on September 26, 2011

Siemens Foundation and Discovery Education Launch Fourth Annual Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge for K-12 Students
Deadline: March 15, 2012

The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge invites students in the U.S. to team up with classmates under teacher/mentors to solve environmental problems in their school (grades K-5), community (grades 6-8), and world (grades 9-12).

Nearly 18,000 elementary, middle and high school students competed in last year’s challenge, offering innovations in areas such as food-waste-to-energy, community-scale battery recycling, phantom-power load reduction, systematic behavior change, erosion control, wildlife habitat restoration, and sustainable agriculture for arid zones. Now entering its fourth year, the challenge is a collaborative effort of the Siemens Foundation, Discovery Education, the National Science Teachers Association, and the College Board.

Student and teacher/mentor prizes, which vary according to grade level and value more than $250,000 total, include scholarships, savings bonds, school grants, adventure trips, and a chance to present their idea at the United Nations. A panel of environmental experts and science educators will judge teams based on their research, analysis, and the ability of the solution to be replicated on a larger scale. High school students are specifically challenged to address energy, biodiversity, land management, water conservation and cleanup, or air and climate.

Teachers and mentors can register for the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, add their student teams, and begin formulating their projects at the We Can Change Web site. The challenge Web site site is also designed to help teams begin their projects, offering a resource section that includes lesson plans, e-books, virtual labs, and other materials from Discovery Education to accompany each stage of the challenge.

Visit the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge Web site for complete program information, entry procedures, and student resources.

http://www.wecanchange.com/