Des Plaines team a state winner in STEM competition
The U.S. Army today announced seventh-grade team CJY from Des Plaines, as a state winner in the 13th annual eCYBERMISSION competition - one of several science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives offered by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program.
eCYBERMISSION, sponsored by the U.S. Army and administered by the National Science Teachers Association, is a Web-based STEM competition that is free to students and designed to help build students' interest and knowledge in STEM. Students in grades six through nine are challenged with developing a solution to a real-world problem in their local community.
Students compete on state, regional, and national levels for monetary awards, with national winning teams receiving up to $9,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds, valued at maturity.
Team CJY worked together with team adviser Sarah Spoerlein to design an experiment that would allow them gather data to use in order to educate members of their community about the benefits of using LED light bulbs as compared to incandescent and CFL light bulbs. Their project investigated differences in heat output, watt usage, replacement and operating costs, and included a letter reaching out to local businesses asking for donations and/or assistance with providing LED light bulbs to low-income families in their school.
Through the eCYBERMISSION website, Team CJY created a mission folder - the official write-up of their project - which requires students to work through all steps of the engineering design process before submitting to be evaluated and scored by a panel of virtual judges.
"The U.S. Army applauds all the students for challenging themselves to this STEM competition in efforts to improve their communities," said Louie R. Lopez, program manager for eCYBERMISSION. "Congratulations to all the state winning teams and we encourage students to continue building their interest and knowledge in STEM."
"We are incredibly proud of all the projects that came through this year. The judges faced no easy task given the caliber of work from these students," said Dr. Juliana Texley, NSTA President. "We congratulate the state winners and commend all of the team advisers for engaging and empowering their students to make a real difference in the world around them."
In the next round of the STEM competition, the regional winners will be determined by a panel of virtual judges who evaluate the top three teams from each region in each grade level. Sixty teams will compete for the honor of moving on to the National Judging and Educational Event in June. For the first time ever, all regional finalist teams will receive $1,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds, valued at maturity.
The final winning teams then compete at the national level and receive an all-expenses paid trip to the NJ&EE, taking place June 15-19, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
The AEOP Cooperative Agreement was formed by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program and includes Virginia Tech as the lead organization, the Academy of Applied Science, American Society for Engineering Education, the Technology Student Association, the University of New Hampshire and NSTA. AEOP is charged with addressing national needs for a STEM literate citizenry through a portfolio of educational opportunities which includes unique experiences, competitions, and high school internships that aim to spark an interest in STEM and encourage participants to pursue college and careers in STEM fields. The Army is committed to increasing the STEM talent pool in order to ensure our national security and global competitiveness. For more information on AEOP, visit www.usaeop.com.
RDECOM has the mission to develop technology and engineering solutions for America's Soldiers. It is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. AMC is the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness - technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection, and sustainment - to the total force, across the spectrum of joint military operations. If a Soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, eats it or communicates with it, AMC provides it. For information on RDECOM, visit www.army.mil/rdecom.
The Arlington, Virginia-based National Science Teachers Association is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. NSTA's current membership includes approximately 55,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.
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