• What: eCYBERMISSION web-based science fair and STEM mentoring
• Grade level: Students in grades 6 to 9
• Deadline: Register teams by December 19, 2018 and submit projects by February 27, 2019
• Awards: Up to $9,000 per team member in U.S. Savings Bonds

You don’t have to be a college professor, or even an adult, for your research to make a difference. That’s the nub of eCYBERMISSION, a Web-based science fair for students in grades 6 to 9 sponsored by the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program and administered by the National Science Teachers Association.

Consider one of last year’s winners, a team of four Naperville, Ill., sixth graders who worked with a parent-adviser to investigate the phosphate-laden fertilizer runoff causing algae blooms in local ponds. According to the Naperville Sun, the students planted tall fescue grass seed in trays of soil, each containing a different type of fertilizer –  including a synthetic fertilizer used by the Naperville Park District and nearby golf courses. They presented their findings to water utility officials he city council this past February. Their conclusion: sheep dung might be a suitable alternative.

Other winning teams looked at ways to safely dispose of batteries and hunted for natural remedies for neurodegenerative diseases in cultures with lower occurrences of disorders.

The contest, which is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards,  asks teams of 3 to 4 students, along with an adult adviser, to identify a problem to solve in their community. Issues should fall into one of several broad categories, ranging from national security to alternative energy and the environment. From there, teams will prepare a “Mission Folder,” in which they use either scientific practices or engineering design process to answer the challenge. can be used to engage students in science and engineering practices.

Each member of the national finalist teams received a total of $4,000 in U.S. E.E. Savings Bonds (matured value), and each member of the national winning teams received a total of $9,000 U.S. E.E. Savings Bonds (matured value) each.

This year’s winning teams were chosen from 20 national finalist teams selected from 4,345 teams that entered the 2018 competition. Since the program’s inception in 2002, eCYBERMISSION has awarded state, regional and national competition winners more than $10 million in U.S. Savings Bonds.

Click HERE to learn more about the contest.

Teams must register by December 19, 2018. (Early deadline is November 21, 2018. with teams eligible to win a free STEM kit.)  Entries are due February 27, 2016. Build your team today!

Filed under: Grades 6-8, K-12 Outreach Programs

Tags: Competitions for Students, Contest, eCYBERMISSION, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Programs for Students, virtual science fair