Competitions
Turn trash to treasure
Recycle, reuse, and re-engineer everyday materials into new inventions. Win a $10,000 prize plus a Dell laptop and a trip to Boston. The deadline for application is August 31, 2008. Enter on the By Kids For Kids website; follow the link to the 2008 Trash to Treasure Competition.
Pursue a career in aerospace
Careers in Aviation announces a partnership with Michelin Aircraft Tire to offer a $1000 scholarship award to a qualified applicant to complete an education in the field of aerospace. In 500 words or less, explain how this scholarship will assist you in achieving your aviation career goals. State the amount of funds required to achieve your goals. Essays must be typed or printed neatly and submitted with completed application information. The deadline for application is August 30, 2008.
Find the Top 50 Growth Jobs
The ProgramAdvisor offers information to help make the important college choice easier—from scholarships to career advice. This website discusses how to find a scholarship, describes the application process, lists online courses, provides information on what schools to choose to match personal interests, and indicates what industries are growing. There is also a free guide to $38 million in scholarships!
Physics homework
Physics Homework help experts! If you have a physics problem, try the online physics help or physics tutors. Get coaching or step-by-step solutions, not just mysterious "hints" or vague "suggestions." There are no monthly fees; pay only for the physics help you want. Whether you are a high school, science, health care, technology, college, or engineering student, you can get help with physics homework, labs and papers, and preparing for exams or competitions on the Physics 24/7 website.
ThinkQuest International
ThinkQuest, sponsored by the Oracle Foundation, is a competition which inspires students to think, connect, create, and share. Students work in teams to build innovative and educational websites to share with the world. Along the way students learn research, writing, teamwork, and technology skills while competing for prizes. Students ages 9-19 form teams and recruit a teacher to act as coach. The team works together to create an innovative website on any topic within a broad range of educational categories. Diverse teams and globally relevant themes are encouraged. The top five teams in each age division receive laptop computers and a cash award for the coach's school. Learn more about the program and register on the website.
Green Youth Leader Award
The Sierra Club and North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Green Youth Leader Award is presented annually to a person in recognition of leadership to promote environmental education concerns at the local, state/province, regional, national, or global levels. The person receiving this award must have made significant contributions to addressing environmental concerns. The nominator must be a member of either the Sierra Club or NAAEE. The deadline for nominations is July 31, 2008; details can be found on the NAAEE website.
Outstanding Young Educator Award
Each year the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) awards the Outstanding Young Educator Award (OYEA) to an emerging education leader who exemplifies excellence and equity in teaching and learning. Effective teachers and education leaders are critical to raising student achievement, and today's world underscores the need for well-qualified educators in every classroom, school, and administrative office. Those nominating an OYEA honoree will receive a complimentary one-year ASCD Premium membership. Nominations are due by August 1, 2008; forms are available on the ASCD website.
Promoting women in science
Male and female high school students do not differ significantly in the science courses they take; however, male students are much more likely than female students to take physics classes—especially advanced physics classes. According to the Dean of Admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), many math and science magnet high schools have roughly equal enrollment by gender. Most of the women from these schools, however, choose not to study math and science fields in college. Instead, they pursue courses of study in liberal arts, medicine, and law. Thus MIT has started a program to encourage young women to explore engineering as a career starting at the high school level. To do this, women engineers from the School of Engineering at MIT are offering to visit schools and speak with young women about careers in engineering. Inquire before September 28, 2008 to invite presenters to come to a school district free. Learn more about this program at the MIT Women's Initiative website.
PhysicsQuest
PhysicsQuest is a middle school competition that consists of four physical science experiments centered on a mystery. The experiments are designed to be done by small groups in a classroom or after school setting. Each of the experiments gives students a clue that they need to solve the mystery. Classes can submit their answers online and be entered into a random drawing for prizes. PhysicsQuest kits are provided free to registered classrooms. Each Grand Prize student will receive an iPod shuffle and a small hand boiler. The Grand Prize class will receive a $500 gift certificate to Educational Innovations, Hydrodynamic Deluxe Set, and an infrared thermometer. The deadline is April 14, 2009. Register online for the next competition on the Physics Central website.
The Brick Award for 2009
The BR!CK Award celebrates people younger than twenty-five years old who are making the world a better place. Citizens and permanent residents of the United States and Canada may apply. Twelve BR!CK Award winners will receive $10,000. For winners age 18 and younger, $5,000 will be awarded in scholarships and $5,000 as a grant to support the winner's project or organization. For winners ages 19-25, the entire sum will be given as a grant towards the winner's project or organization. Four Golden BR!CK winners will be selected from the group of twelve winners. Each Golden BR!CK winner receives an extra $15,000 for a total of $25,000. Applications will be available in July 2008 for the 2009 awards. You will find more details at Do Something.org.
Captain Planet Foundation grants
Applicants to the Captain Planet Foundation submit projects that promote understanding of environmental issues, focus on hands-on involvement, and promote interaction and cooperation within a group. Participants can be six to eighteen years old. There are four deadlines a year: March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. Grants are reviewed over a three-month period - this should be considered when applying for a grant to be started three months from date of application. Details and application are available on the website.
Colleges and scholarships
College Scholarships, Colleges, and Online Degrees is designed to offer college-bound, graduate school-bound, and career school-bound students of all ages access to information about a wide variety of subjects including: free college scholarships and financial aid searches, SAT and ACT test preparation tips, colleges and universities throughout the United States, and online degrees and distance education. Included is a directory of college and university admissions office e-mail addresses and telephone numbers, college scholarship and financial aid office information, and links to the home pages and online applications of more than a thousand colleges and universities. Also included is a page of links to the best college and university admissions, college scholarships, and financial aid pages on the web.
FastWeb for college scholarships
Find college-specific scholarships online at FastWeb. Fill out a questionnaire on the Internet to find scholarships appropriate to your interests. This is service-free information about colleges, college financing, admissions, offers, and promotions designed for students, job opportunities, and more.
Youth Incentive Award
The Coleopterists Society, an international organization of professionals and hobbyists interested in the study of beetles, has established a program to recognize young people who study beetles. The Society has pledged up to $300 each year for the Youth Incentive Award program. In addition to monetary grants of up to $150, award recipients will receive up to $200 (Junior Award) and $400 (Senior Award) of equipment credit from the BioQuip Products Inc. catalog, and a one year subscription to the Society journal, The Coleopterists Bulletin. This program is for young Coleopterists in grades 7-12. The deadline is November 15, 2008. Go to the website for more information and an application.