Now through March 15, 2009, middle school students can “go green” and team up for the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, the first and only national K-12 sustainability education initiative aligned to education standards. Prizes for students and teachers include Regional and National Recognition, Cash, and an Appearance on Discovery’s Planet Green Television Network.
The Challenge is entirely web-based and provides a robust collection of resources for students and teachers from interactive labs to lesson plans, custom developed by the same curriculum team that brings you the award-winning services, Discovery Education streaming and Discovery Education Science. Check it out at http://www.wecanchange.com/. You can even take a quiz to measure your own environmental IQ.
The competition is open to all U.S. middle school students between grades 6-8. Teams will be made up of two to three students and a teacher or adult advisor (i.e. parent, Girl/Boy Scout leader etc.). The initiative will expand to elementary schools in 2009 and to high schools in 2010. Teams will be judged by a panel of environmental experts and science educators. Teams will be judged on their ability to create a positive, measurable solution to a local environmental problem or issue using scientific methodology and how well they explain how the solution can be replicated by other communities.