Steps — Preparing an Entry
Step 1 — Download entry materials
Thank you for your interest in ExploraVision! To download entry materials, click here.
Step 2 — Choose your team of 2–4 students
Pick 2–4 students to be on your team.
Step 3 — Choose your coach
Ask a teacher to be your coach. He or she will provide guidance during the project and answer any questions about ExploraVision.
Step 4 — Select a research topic
For help choosing a topic, click here.
Step 5 — Choose your team mentor
Your team mentor is a resource person who helps you with your chosen topic. You might choose an adult who represents an organization or a business, a parent/guardian or another teacher from your school.
Step 6 — Research your topic
Learn all about your area of interest — what it does, how it works and why it was invented. For research help, click here.
Step 7 — Write your abstract, description and bibliography
Abstract
Summarize your proposed future technology and other relevant information — using no more than 150 words (typed, double-spaced and clearly labeled). This document must precede other entry components and should be on a separate page. It does not count as part of the description.
Description
Prepare a written description of the project on no more than 11 typed, double-spaced pages (you may also use a combination of text and artwork).
The description must include the following sections in this exact order:
- Present Technology — Give an overview of the present form of the technology, including some scientific principles involved in how it functions.
- History — Research and describe the history of the technology from its inception.
- Future Technology — Describe the team's vision for what this technology will be like in 20 years — including scientific principles involved in developing the technology.
- Breakthroughs — Research and describe breakthroughs that are necessary to make the future technology design a reality. Why doesn't this future technology exist today?
- Design Process — Describe three alternative ideas or features the team considered for this ExploraVision project. The ideas and features should be directly related to the entry, not a list of other entries you may have submitted. Describe why the team rejected each feature and idea in favor of the ones in the submitted ExploraVision technology. Describe the team's design process.
- Consequences — Recognizing that all technologies have positive and negative consequences, describe the potential positive and negative consequences of the new technology on society.
Mandatory criteria:
- Title at top of description
- Clearly labeled section headings
- Sections in the order shown above
- Typed, double-spaced
- No more than 11 pages—each page must be numbered
- On standard 8 1/2"x11" white paper with 1" margins
- In English
- A standard font in 12-point size or larger
- Do not use report covers, binders or folders
Tip: The Future Technology, Breakthroughs, Design Process and Consequences sections are the most heavily weighted when assigning points in the judging. Therefore, it makes sense to devote at least two-thirds of the Description to these areas.
Bibliography
All sources used in researching the chosen technology should be referenced here. (This does not count as part of the description.)
Mandatory criteria:
- Sources must be clearly labeled and include title, author, publisher and copyright date
- Also include Internet sources, interviews and non-original graphics
- Footnotes are encouraged, but not required
Step 8 — Create your simulated web page graphics
Team members must prepare five graphics that simulate Web pages that communicate and promote their future technology vision. Web page graphics may be hand-drawn or computer-generated and may include text, pictures, photographs and diagrams. A collage of graphics or photographs may be pasted onto the Web page graphic form.
Mandatory Criteria:
- Each Web page graphic must be presented on a photocopy of the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards Web page graphics form (provided in the entry kit) on standard 8 1/2" x 11" white paper
- The Web page graphics should relate to material presented in the written description and illustrate the attributes of the chosen technology
- Each Web page should relate to the others as if the team was actually designing a website to promote its future technology
- Please remember to give proper credit in the bibliography to any non-original artwork
Tip: Review some actual online websites prior to beginning the five Web page graphics. Click here for samples from past ExploraVision winners.
Step 9 — Complete the entry form and attach all materials
Be sure to fill out the entry form correctly and include all of the required pages. Click here to receive entry materials. Click here to download a sample entry kit.
Step 10 — Submit your entry
Submit your entry to us no later than January 28th, 2009 at:
Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards
1840 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201-3000
