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Get Involved in the National STEM Video Game Challenge Today!

December 20, 2010 at 12:49 PM ET by Dawn Joseph
Summary: 
As part of the President's expansion of his Educate to Innovate campaign, the White House announced the National STEM Video Game Challenge.

In September the President unveiled Change the Equation, an expansion of the Administration’s Educate to Innovate campaign.  As part of this, the White House announced the National STEM Video Game Challenge, a competition aimed at motivating youth interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning by tapping into students’ natural passions for playing and making video games.

The first year of the Challenge features two separate, but complementary competitions:

  • The Youth Challenge engages middle-school students in STEM learning, 21st Century Literacy Skills, and Systems Thinking by challenging them to design original video games. A Best in Class Prize will be awarded in each of 14 different categories. Prize packages include a laptop, gaming subscriptions, and funds for the winner’s school.
  • The Developer Challenge challenges emerging and experienced game developers to design mobile-based video games for young children (grades pre-K through 4th) that teach key STEM concepts and foster an interest in STEM subject areas.

Developers will compete for a Grand Prize of $50,000 for best developer submission, a Collegiate Prize of $25,000 for the best undergraduate or graduate student submission, and an Impact Prize of $25,000 for the best submission that has the greatest potential to reach underserved populations.  Additionally, a People’s Choice Award will recognize the submission that garners the most votes through an online public poll.  The People's Choice Award winner will be invited to the Cooney Center Leadership forum in March 2011, all expenses paid.

If you haven’t submitted your entry already, take note:  The Challenge is accepting entries through January 5, 2011.  Complete guidelines and rules are available at www.stemchallenge.org/youthprize and www.cooneycenterprizes.org.  Also there will be Developer Challenge webinar today, December 20th, at 2 pm EST to provide additional details.  Go to: www.cooneycenterprizes.org.

Various partners have already reached out to tens of thousands of teachers, parents, and students through workshops, newsletters, and webinars to provide more information on the Challenge and the potential of game-based learning. For example, BrainPOP introduced the Challenge to its educator network of more than 125,000 teachers through the creation of a custom lesson plan, a web spotlight, and webinars and blog posts. And just last week, more than 100 winners of the President’s Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching attended a workshop about getting their students engaged in the challenge. 

Get involved in the National STEM Video Game Challenge.You, your student, or your child could create the next STEM gaming sensation!