Sixteen student teams have been named regional winners in the eleventh annual eCYBERMISSION competition, sponsored by the U.S. Army; one of several science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives offered by the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) and administered by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). The regional winning teams were chosen from a group of 64 finalists and a panel of virtual judges selected this year’s regional winners on the basis of several criteria, including a virtual presentation of their project and a question and answer session with judges.
“Congratulations to all of the teams who participated in this year’s competition. We are very excited for the regional winners for their outstanding work to solve problems in real life situations,” said Dale Ormond, director, U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. “We also want to thank the team advisors and volunteers who gave their time and shared their expertise to make eCYBERMISSION a success. We look forward to bringing more awards to every state and continue to serve as an online resource for educators who are looking for new and engaging ways to teach STEM in their classrooms.”
The online collaborative learning competition is designed to cultivate student interest in STEM by encouraging students in grades six through nine to develop solutions to real-world challenges in their local communities. Some of the community issues related to one of the seven mission challenges students will choose from include the following:
- alternative sources of energy
- the environment
- food
- health and fitness
- force and motion
- national security and safety
- robotics
- technology
The teams will advance to the National Judging and Educational Event (NJ&EE) taking place in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, where they will present their projects to a panel of judges and a national winner from each grade level will be selected.
After selecting a mission challenge, teams—under the guidance of a team advisor—apply the scientific method/inquiry or engineering design process to propose a solution. Each team then submits a mission folder, the official write-up of their project, via the eCYBERMISSION website.
“These students are tackling important issues in their community and creating practical solutions that can help affect real change,” said Dr. David Evans, executive director of the NSTA. “We are extremely impressed with the quality of work and innovative ideas these regional winners are exhibiting and wish them the best of luck in the next round of judging.”
As a regional winner, each team member will receive a $2,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond and an all-expenses paid trip to NJ&EE to compete for the first-place national award. This year’s event features a STEM Tech Expo, where students will participate in exciting demonstrations and hands-on activities and go on field trips to the National Mall and museums. The event will conclude with a special awards ceremony with U.S. Army leadership, where the national winning team from each grade will be announced.
Started in 2002, eCYBERMISSION has awarded state, regional and national competition winners with over $8 million in U.S. Savings Bonds and more than 100,000 students participated worldwide.
For a list of regional winners, click here.
