Level and eligibility: Students in grades 9-12; U.S. citizens. Submission Deadline: December 15, 2010.

The RealWorld-InWorld NASA Engineering Design Challenge is a unique education initiative that encourages students in grades 9-12 to explore and build skills essential for successful careers in STEM subjects through two phases of project-based learning and team competition.

Phase 1 – RealWorld Design

Teams of high-school students and coaches work as engineers and scientists to explore and design solutions to two real-world problems related to the James Webb Space Telescope.

Phase 2 – InWorld Design

Interested teachers/coaches and teams of 3-5 high-school-aged students register to move InWorld to continue working in a 3D virtual environment. Participating college students build InWorld teams by selecting from registered teams and their teachers/coaches. Each InWorld team then chooses an engineering mentor.

In a virtual world setting, each newly formed team uses 21st-century tools to refine designs and to create 3D models of the Webb telescope. Webb engineers will visit and “chat” InWorld throughout the challenge.

Only coaches and students who submit their final RealWorld project solutions by December 15, 2010 are eligible to move to the InWorld phase to compete for scholarships and technology awards. Participation in Phase 2 is limited to U.S. citizens.

Additional Resources

Teacher resources, student-centered activities, and online tutorials are available with registration.

Please visit the Real World InWorld Website for more, and updated, information.

Filed under: Grades 9-12, K-12 Outreach Programs

Tags: Competitions for Students, Computer Engineering, Contest, Engineering Design, Engineering Design Process, NASA, Science Contest