Internet search giant Google is seeking the next Einstein or Marie Curie in its Google Science Fair for students.
Google believes “science can change the world — and one way to encourage that is to celebrate and champion young scientific talent as we do athletes and pop idols,” the company said in its official blog.
Thus Google, in partnership with CERN, The LEGO Group, National Geographic and Scientific American, has launched the first global online science competition, the Google Science Fair. Students ages 13-18 from all over the world can enter the science fair; all they need is access to a computer and the internet.
Participants may enter the science fair either solo in a team of up to three members, and they are to build and submit their projects entirely online.
Prizes include scholarships, real-life experiences (such as a trip to the Galapagos Islands with a National Geographic Explorer), and work opportunities (such as a five-day trip to CERN in Switzerland).
Students who are entering a science fair locally may post that project online with Google Science Fair, as well.
How to enter the Google Science Fair
To enter, students should register online and create their project as a Google Site. Registration is open through 4 April 2011. Students entering the science fair must obtain consent from their parent(s) or guardian(s) in order to compete. Rules are available online, too.
Google will start judging the projects after 4 April and will announce the semi-finalists in early May.
The semi-finalist projects will be posted on Google’s online gallery, where the public will be able to vote for a “people’s choice” winner.
From the list of semi-finalists, Google will choose 15 finalists to bring their projects to Google headquarters on 11 July to compete in its final, live event, where top science judges will choose a winner in each age category, as well as a grand-prize winner.
Tina Costanza
