It proved to be a conductor of electricity. I did it in service of that three-fold cardboard monstrosity known as the science fair project that most students are obligated to complete at school.
Some pupils come up with ingenious concepts — like generating light from the warmth of a human palm or turning banana peels into biodegradable plastic.
Those kinds of projects have been among the winners at the Google Science Fair 2018, an international online science competition.
The contest encourages teens to test their inventive ideas, tackle problems creatively and gather data for a shot at a $50,000 scholarship. Other awards include funding to carry out winners’ experiments, a new Chromebook and international travel opportunities.
Overview of the Google Science Fair 2018
Participants apply science, technology, engineering and math to investigate questions and develop solutions.
Who’s eligible
The Google Science Fair 2018 is open to young people ages 13 through 18. Entrants must be at least 13 by Dec. 12 and must not have turned 19 by Sept. 13, 2018.
Applications will also be accepted from residents of the 28 member nations of the European Union (who must be at least 16 by Dec. 12, 2018) as well as from Israel and South Korea (who must be at least 14 by Dec. 12, 2018).
Every teen needs permission from a parent or legal guardian to submit an entry.
How to enter and submit
You can register as a solo entrant or as part of a team of up to three people.
To participate, create a Google account if you don’t already own one. Then register on the Google Science Fair site.
From there you’ll be directed to your project dashboard, where you’ll build, revise and file your submission. The dashboard also houses permission forms, category selection and all required submission steps.
Each entry must choose one main topic and two subtopics from the list below:
- Flora and fauna.
- Food science.
- Earth and environmental sciences.
- Inventions and innovation.
- Electricity and electronics.
- Robotics.
- Biology.
- Chemistry.
- Physics.
- Behavioral and social sciences.
- Energy and space.
- Astrophysics.
- Computer science and math.
Google supplies a resource library for ideas, how-to guides, tips and access to experts and mentors who can support students.
Submissions (much like those traditional science fair boards) must include all of the following elements to be eligible:
- A concise summary of your project.
- A two-minute YouTube video or a Google Slides presentation with no more than 20 slides.
- An “About Me” profile.
- A research question and hypothesis.
- A description of background research.
- Details of experiments and testing procedures.
- Results from testing.
- Final outcome and conclusions.
- A bibliography, references and any acknowledgements.
Consult the official rules for limitations, legal terms and other small print.
All valid submissions will be considered for the array of awards (listed below), so you don’t need to apply separately for different prizes.
Browse the past winning projects to get a sense of what the judging panel tends to favor.
The deadline to submit a project is 11:59 p.m. PST on Dec. 12, 2018.
State winners will be revealed in March 2019; regional finalists will be disclosed in April 2019; global finalists will be announced in May 2019.
Rewards and recognition
These 179 awards beat any paper ribbons in my book. If a team receives a cash prize, the funds will be split equally among team members.
The Google Grand Prize is a $50,000 scholarship.
In addition there are four $15,000 scholarships aimed at advancing students’ project goals:
- The $15,000 LEGO Education award includes a trip for a parent or guardian to LEGO headquarters in Denmark. It recognizes tactile, hands-on approaches to STEM problems.
- The $15,000 National Geographic Explorer award includes a 15-day expedition to the Galápagos Islands and a yearlong mentorship. It rewards creative and experimental responses to Earth’s challenges.
- The $15,000 Scientific American Innovator award includes a Scientific American cruise with a parent or guardian and a yearlong mentorship. It honors projects that use experimental methods to investigate the natural world.
- The $15,000 Virgin Galactic Pioneer award includes a tour of Virgin Galactic facilities and a yearlong mentorship. It recognizes hands-on engineering accomplishments.
Beyond those, 20 global finalists, 53 state winners and 100 regional winners will be named.
The 20 global finalists receive sponsor swag, a 12-month subscription to Scientific American and National Geographic, plus an all-expenses-paid trip to Mountain View, California, to attend the finalist event in July 2019.
The 53 state winners receive an Android tablet and a Google swag bag. The 100 regional winners receive a Chromebook and a Google swag bag.
When you’re developing your science fair entry, remember no concept is too small or too grand when it comes to innovation and inventive problem-solving. Consider how a tiny aglet — the tip on a shoelace — made an everyday task easier.
If you’re ineligible or this contest isn’t for you, that’s fine. Take a look at our roundup of 100 scholarships to help pay for college, or follow The Penny Hoarder Life on Facebook to find other scholarship possibilities.
Riley Dawson is a staff writer at Savinly. Riley also once tested which color popcorn attracted ants because we had neon popcorn in the ’90s.
