/ 19 January 2011

The search is on for science prodigies

Young science enthusiasts who want to follow in the footsteps of Albert Einstein may now test their skills in a global online science competition.

Young science enthusiasts who want to follow in the footsteps of Albert Einstein and Marie Curie may now test their skills by participating in a global online science competition.

Global web search engine Google, in partnership with European nuclear research organisation, CERN, the Lego Group, National Geographic and Scientific America, are hosting the world’s first global online science competition.

Called the Google Science Fair, the objective of the competition is “to encourage and support young people in their scientific efforts,” according to Julie Taylor, Google’s Communication and Public Affairs Manager for sub-Saharan Africa. She explained that the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, also experimented. “They had a hypothesis that there was a better way to find information on the web and were fortunate to be able to get their idea in front of lots of people.”

Taylor said that many ideas are lost because [most] young people do not have the right forums to share their discoveries with the world.

“We believe that science can change the world and one way to encourage this notion is to celebrate and champion young scientific talent in the same way that athletes and pop idols are celebrated and idolised,” said Taylor.

The competition is open to learners around the globe who are between the ages of 13 and 18. They may build and submit their projects online, either individually or in a team of up to three. All that is required is access to a computer, the internet and a web browser.

Learners need to create their own project site with a unique URL and should provide a summary in the form of a video, slide presentation, spreadsheets and photos. Registration is open until 4 April 2011 and this will be followed by adjudication. Semi-finalists will be announced in early May. Taylor said the projects of the semi-finalists will be posted on Google’s online gallery and the public will be invited to vote for a “people’s choice” winner.

Fifteen finalists will be selected to bring their projects to Google’s headquarters in California in the USA in early July to compete in the final, live event where world-renowned science judges will select a winner in each category and a grand-prize winner, Taylor explained.

Prizes include “once-in-a-lifetime experiences” like a trip to the Galapagos Islands with a National Geographic explorer, scholarships and real-life work opportunities like a five-day trip to CERN in Switzerland.

Entrants may submit projects under the following categories:

  • Computer Science and Mathematics
  • Earth and Environmental Sciences
  • Behavioural and Social Sciences
  • Flora and Fauna
  • Energy and Space
  • Inventions and Innovation
  • Physics
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Food Science
  • Electricity and Electronics

Ample information is provided on the fair’s website on how to enter the competition and the following example of a project is provided: “After observing worms ‘come out, in the rain I question, ‘What type of water-based (sugar, salt, or pure) environment do worms like best?'”

The learner is then shown how to draw up a hypothesis like: “Worms tend to prefer a wet environment that contains sugars because they live underground and arise from the ground only when it is cool. Just like all living things, they are continuously looking for food as an energy source.” They are then shown how to conduct research, experiment with worms and observe what happened to the worms. Then they are shown how to draw up a conclusion.

Learners may visit http://www.youtube.com/googlesciencefair, for step-by-step instructions on how to enter the competition. For sample submissions, they can log on to: https://sites.google.com/site/tescasgsfsample/home.
Information and resources for teachers are available on: http://www.google.com/events/sciencefair/teachers.html