A private foundation is offering $150,000 to students for their ideas about how to reduce waste in homes, schools, communities, and/or around the world. “The earth is everyone’s responsibility and we believe in the power of our youth to help address this important issue,” explained Jeff Richardson, founder of and CEO of Project Paradigm, the private foundation behind the growing youth movement to make a difference in the world.
Each year, The Paradigm Challenge invites students aged 4 to 18 to use kindness, creativity, collaboration, and STEM skills to solve a real-world problem. Last year, more than 50,000 students worked on new ways to reduce home fire fatalities and injuries. The Grand Prize and an all-expense-paid patent application were awarded to the student inventors of the “Fire Mitt,” an oven mitt that quickly and easily unfolds into a fire blanket which can be deployed to put out a cooking fire.
“This challenge inspires a special kind of innovation,” noted Montana Marks, Project Paradigm’s Kindness Officer. “These kids are innovating for good. They are helping other kids, they are helping adults, and even our planet. They are changing the world.”
Project Paradigm’s website for The Paradigm Challenge provides students and teachers with information about the leading causes of waste, as well as current efforts to combat this problem. In addition, the website has “how to” videos for students, a video lesson plan, and supporting materials for teachers.
“The Paradigm Challenge is a terrific opportunity for educators who are looking for motivational project-based learning activities for their students,” explained Ashley Greenway, 2016 Allen Distinguished Educator and Georgia STEM Laureate. “The Challenge is particularly appealing because of its engaging online video lesson plan.”
The video lesson plan is narrated by last year’s top teams, as well as by teen inventor Alexis Lewis, who has spoken at The White House. Lewis recommends students watch The Paradigm Challenge’s “6 Steps to Solve Any Challenge” video. “It’s a great way for kids to learn that they already have what it takes to solve problems and make a difference in the world,” said Lewis.
The 100 Finalist teams with the best ideas will win cash prizes of up to $100,000. Their supporting teachers will win cash grants up to $5,000. In addition, the top team in each age category will win a trip to Los Angeles to attend The Paradigm Challenge’s black-tie prize ceremony. Last year, teams came from as far away as New Zealand and India to attend the event.
In addition to the cash prizes, the top inventions have a chance to win all-expense-paid patent applications. Project Paradigm is committed to turning winning ideas into reality. “We want to empower students to solve real-world problems and, when they do, we will help implement the best ideas,” said Richardson. Patent applications are filed in the inventors’ names and they retain all the intellectual property rights.
To read the full story, visit https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/16/11/p8756870/competition-seeks-students-ideas-to-reduce-waste-offers-50k-teacher-gra.