How can math + science = fun for underprivileged elementary and middle school students? It’s a question teachers deal with on a daily basis and now it’s being brought to the youths themselves as well as Video Game designers and undergraduates across the country. Inspired by the president’s Educate to Innovate initiative, the STEM challenge was created to get students excited about learning by experiencing it through something they already enjoy, video games.
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math, subjects where American students especially in the inner cities are struggling compared to our cultural counterparts. By challenging 5th through 8th graders to come up with and develop game concepts that revolve around engaging and educating kids in these subjects, the challenge hopes to inspire critical thinking, problem solving and creative design in middle school students. The students who come up with the winning projects in each theory and practice will be rewarded with large grants to their schools and oodles of technology for themselves.
The other side of the contest is for adult developers and students over the age of 18 who are able to come up with new and interesting ideas to bring science and math education into high end video games that can rival the eye-catching but empty games currently on the market. Developers will compete for one of four prizes ranging from $25K - $50K. On top of that the games will be researched, marketed and distributed. Developers will retain the rights to their intellectual property but will grant limited rights to the STEM challenge for press and promotion.
Submissions for students and developers will be accepted starting Oct 12, 2010 and will close January 5, 2011. Judging will take place in February and March of 2011. Sponsored by the Entertainment Software Association, Microsoft and AMD in partnership with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and E-Line Media this is the first of what will be an annual competition who’s founding outreach partners include the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, The International Game Developers Association, the American Library Association and BrainPOP.
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By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer, business owner, and work-from-home mom.
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