Competitions
Earth Science Week contests
Three contests are being held as part of Earth Science Week 2009. One is a Photography contest "How Climate Shapes My World." This contest challenges students to submit photo images that represent the climate in their local area. The second is a Visual Arts contest titled "The Climate Where I Live" which asks students to submit a poster which shows the current typical climate where they live and how it was 100,000 years ago. The third is an essay contest "Climate Connections." Students must write an essay exploring the ways climate interacts with Earth's systems in their area. The deadline for all contests is October 16, 2009. More information and applications are available on the website.
K-12 engineering curriculum award
If you have developed a K-12 engineering curriculum, consider submitting it for the 2009 Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware competition. This new award is open to a wide range of submissions of high-quality, engaging, non-commercial learning innovations designed to enhance engineering education. Submissions are due by July 17, 2009. The Premier Courseware of 2009 will be announced at the Frontiers In Education Conference to be held October 18-21 in San Antonio, Texas. Learn more about the award and how to enter on the Engineering Pathway website.
The Mandelbrot Competition in math
The Mandelbrot Competition adheres to a short answer format and takes place in five rounds spread throughout the school year. The range of questions and topics is designed to engage students with only a modest background in problem solving while still stretching the best students in the country. Problem solving is thought to be one of the most effective means of exploring the world of mathematics, and contests provide an exciting and motivational setting in which to do so. The most important task is enlisting a math teacher to coach the team. There are two contests at the high school level. For the 2009-2010 season, registration opens July 1, 2009. Check the website for details about the contest.
A sample problem: A five-legged Martian has a drawer full of socks, each of which is red, white, or blue, and there are at least five socks of each color. The Martian pulls out one sock at a time without looking. How many socks must the Martian remove from the drawer to be certain there will be five socks of the same color? a) 6; b) 9; c) 12; d) 13; e) 15