Video Topics
2013 Video Topics
Many of the greatest innovations of our time were first designed to solve a simple problem. This year's Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge encourages young people to solve everyday problems using science and innovation. When you are working in the field of science, the opportunities are endless! Look around you - science is everywhere. Your innovative ideas just may revolutionize the way we live.
THE CHALLENGE
Entrants should identify an everyday problem related to the way we live, work or play. The problem should directly impact them, their families, their communities, and/or the global population. The idea must be a new innovation or solution, and cannot simply be a behavioral change or a new use for an existing product.
VIDEO SUBMISSION
The challenge is to create a one- to two- minute video that...
- explains the problem and how it impacts them, their family, their community or the global population;
- describes a new innovation or solution that could solve or impact the problem;
- explains the science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics behind their innovation; and
- illustrates how their innovation could both address the everyday problem they've identified and have a broader impact locally or globally.
THOUGHT STARTERS
The following are thought-starters within each category. Students are encouraged to consider one of these topics or come up with their own ideas within these categories.
- How We Live
In daily life you experience many factors that impact your health, safety, social relationships and personal needs. What kinds of technologies, innovations or solutions might:
- Improve access to clean drinking water
- Reduce waste in our lives
- Improve the quality of our pets' lives
- Improve energy efficiency in our homes
- Make transportation safer and more efficient
- How We Work
You work at home and at school. Your work might include completing assignments and projects, cleaning your room, taking out the garbage, traveling to school or walking your dog. What kinds of technologies, innovations, or solutions might:
- Inspire creativity and innovation
- Simplify complex tasks
- Boost productivity
- Improve communication
- Allow us to commute via land, water or in air in new ways
- How We Play
An important aspect of a balanced life is finding time for leisure activities. Leisure activities include playing sports, gaming, music, movies, and visiting new places. What kinds of technologies, innovations, or solutions might:
- Boost sports performance or safety
- Make play more accessible to all
- Increase opportunities for travel and exploration
- Provide solutions and innovations for gaming
- Inspire new ways of playing
Entries will be scored using the following judging criteria:
- Creativity (ingenuity and innovative thinking) (30%);
- Scientific knowledge (30%);
- Persuasiveness and effective communication (20%); and
- Overall presentation (20%).
Young Scientist Challenge Project Template
Good scientists work through a scientific process when trying to solve a problem.
Download this electronic template to help guide you through the process.
Looking for inspiration? Here's one story that might inspire you...
One Sunday in 1974, Arthur Fry, a new-products developer at 3M, was singing in his church choir. The little piece of paper he used to mark his choir music had fallen out, causing him to lose his page. He thought back to a weak adhesive that one of his colleagues, Spencer Silver, had developed and wondered if he could use it to create an adhesive bookmark that could be easily removed without damaging his hymn book. The next day he used the adhesive to create the sample bookmarks. The rest, as they say, is history. Arthur's sample bookmark led to Post-It® notes, an innovation that has revolutionized the way we communicate and organize information. Arthur, of course, had no way of knowing this. He was simply trying to keep his place in church!
Source: http://invention.smithsonian.org
