Students can Win Prizes with a Science Video

Shawn Wasserman posted 2014-03-12

Co-author Ruth Kiefer

If your children or students love science and the films that focus on them, then the Kavli Science Video Contest should be a great learning activity. From Star Trek to Spiderman, films have sparked the imagination of youth towards STEM. To feed this trend, the Kavli Foundation and the USA Science & Engineering Festival have launched a Science Video contest.

The contest’s goals are to help youth develop skills in research, critical thinking, concept/content organization, creative thinking, writing, and communication. This contest is aimed at middle and high school students.

The first prize is valued at $2000 with $750 and $500 going to second and third place, respectively. The people’s choice video will receive $250. Other prizes will include Wolfram Mathematica Software and free stunt training from Steve Wolfe.

Science fiction has often set the bar for scientists. For instance, Star Trek has displayed technologies such as robotics, bionics, space flight, teleportation, and communication. Many of these once-dreamed-of technologies have become reality including cell phones, ipads, and space flight. Students will be able to research for themselves where the scifi bar has been surpassed, and where we are still falling short.

Here are some tips for your video:

  • Watch or play some movies/TV/video games and make a list of scifi tech that pops up
  • Research the real life applications and attempts to make the scifi version a reality
  • Ask questions about what science has answered and what remains unknown
  • Make an essay, script and a 30-90 second video presenting the technology

The videos can consist of:

  • Text
  • Original Art
  • Stock footage (must be royalty free)
  • Animation
  • Slides
  • Music, song, poem, rap (original or royalty free)
  • Mock interview

When the video is done, upload it to YouTube and enter the contest using the form on the USA Science & Engineering Festival website. The deadline of Mar. 21, 2014 is soon approaching. Winners of the contest will be announced April 26-27, 2014 at the USA Science & Engineering Festival.