*This is a partnered post, all opinions are my own*
Kids love to experiment, so why not take that love of experimenting and give them a chance to win. That’s exactly what the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist program is doing. While I wasn’t the greatest when it came to science, I did try, and I loved to experiment…my kids are the same way. Recently, I learned that the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge is a fun way they can take that love of science and have a chance to win. Two of mine will have to wait a few years before they can join the challenge, but that’s no reason not to go ahead and get them excited now.
Check out the video of last years winner. I can totally appreciate his design living in a state that has hurricanes.
This nationwide competition is for middle school students. It targets kids when that love for science can tend to, shall we say, fade. Wanting to keep students interested, they created the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. This challenge will award the winner $25,000 and the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.” Also, the ten finalists will get to travel (all expenses paid) to Minneapolis to showcase their innovations. Also, the state merit finalists will be recognized.
The contest is going on right now and entries are being accepted through April 22, so if you have a middle school student, there is still time to get them entered. To enter, your middle school student is asked to create a 1-2 minute video sharing the science behind a possible solution to an everyday problem. Based on the video entries, ten finalists will be chosen to work with a 3M scientist (HOW COOL IS THAT) through a summer mentorship. They will work together to create an innovation that will be judged at the final competition in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the 3M Innovation Center, this October.
Can you imagine how awesome that would be for those students to see their innovation brought from an idea to a reality! With some of the past winners having gone on to speak in front of members of Congress, work with the nation’s top scientists, participate in the White House Science Fair, meet the President and pursue academic careers in the sciences, this could be a stepping stone for their future.
For more information visit www.youngscientistchallenge.com. Will your middle schooler be entering the challenge??
Toni Patton
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This looks like it was a lot of fun! My boys would have had a field day here. Science is their favorite subject.
This looks like a really great challenge! We need to be developing great scientists.
My oldest still has a couple of years until middle school, but she is a science nut, so would really enjoy entering a challenge like this. I hope it’s still around once she reaches that stage!
My son’s favorite subject in school is science. He loves experimenting, too. 🙂
What a cool I for those kids that like to create!
Our daughter used to enter STEM events all the time in Middle school. She even one an engineering one once! These are such great venue/contests to get young imaginations working.
This is so fun and amazing. I wish I had known about it earlier so that I could have gotten Joshua entered i it.
This year is my daughter’s first year in middle school and she has really taken a liking to science. I love that they Discovery and 3M are doing this for kids like her!
Love this, my son is so into science! I can’t wait to see where it takes him.