Student Programs & Opportunities

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Last updated: March 28, 2013

Google Science Fair 2013

The Google Science Fair is back for a third year from January 30 2013 - April 30, 2013! In partnership with CERN, The LEGO Group, National Geographic and Scientific American, the Google Science Fair offers a chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences, scholarships and real-life work opportunities. It's an online science competition for students from around the world. Students post their science and engineering projects online to compete for prizes, scholarships and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. There's also a “Science in Action” prize for the top project that shows positive, local community impact.

Last year’s winners tackled the early diagnosis of breast cancer, improving the experience of listening to music for people with hearing loss, cataloging the ecosystem found in water, and subsistence farming in Swaziland If you're aged 13-18 and want to get involved, visit the site now and sign up for news of the launch and details of GSF 2013. You're never too young to change the world. www.google.com/sciencefair.

Coastal Marine Biolabs Integrative Biosciences Program

Coastal Marine Biolabs (CMB) is now accepting applications for the Integrative Biosciences Program, an immersive, research-based residential experience for junior and senior level high school students. Developed and led by academic researchers, the program provides a unique opportunity for students to work alongside scientists to conduct authentic and interrelated field and laboratory studies that bind scientific concepts and innovative technologies from a variety of seemingly unrelated disciplines (e.g. ecology, environmental science, neuroscience, genetics, molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, environmental chemistry, applied mathematics, and biomimetics). The program is hosted at CMB, a research-based science education organization located in Ventura Harbor, CA. For more information and application guidelines, please visit: http://www.coastalmarinebiolabs.org/program/overview.html. Applications are accepted on an on-going basis.

National Youth Science Camp

The National Youth Science Camp (NYSC) is an innovative summer science honors program for two high-achieving high school students from each state in the nation and others from around the world. This residential experience is held in a rustic setting in West Virginia’s eastern mountains. Delegates travel to and attend NYSC at no expense. This has been true throughout the history of the camp so that selectees can attend regardless of their financial status. The National Youth Science Camp honors, rewards, and encourages excellence in science by offering hands-on small-group learning experiences, a provocative lecture series, and an outdoor adventure program. Visiting scientists are invited based on their reputation as leaders in their fields and on their ability to share up-to-date research with the delegates. The atmosphere at the NYSC is engaging and supportive. Music, frisbee and casual encounters with nature abound. Guests, staff, and delegates have time to relax and discuss ideas over meals or while on the hiking trail. The entire camp population travels to Washington D.C. for a senate luncheon and quality time at the museums on the Mall. Selection is by appointment from each state. Contact Amy Turnipseed in the Office of the Secretary of Education, aturnipseed@ose.ca.gov, 916-324-6845.

Bacteriofiles - Free Podcast!

A free podcast to help spark interest in students in science and microbiology. Bacteriofiles reports on exciting news about bacteria, microbes and viruses. It explains the connection between the research and how it may affect our lives. These interesting and entertaining podcasts present science in a way that may inspire high school students to consider science as a career choice! You an view the podcast and download recent episodes at http://www.bacterofiles.blogspot.com.

Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students (LiMPETS)

LiMPETS is an environmental monitoring and education program for students, educators, and volunteer groups throughout California. This hands-on program was developed to monitor the ocean and coastal ecosystems of California's national marine sanctuaries to increase awareness and stewardship of these important areas. Through research-based monitoring and standardized protocols, students develop their problem solving skills, gain experience using tools and methods employed by field scientists, and learn to analyze data. Approximately 3,500 teachers and students along the coast of California are collecting rocky intertidal and sandy beach data as part of the LiMPETS network. Find out how to join this free environmental monitoring program at http://limpetsmonitoring.org.

Ocean Guardian Program

The purpose of the NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries Ocean Guardian Programs are to encourage teachers and students to explore their natural surroundings to form a sense of personal connection to the ocean and/or watersheds in which they live. • Students can make a difference by becoming a member of our Ocean Guardian Kids Club. • Teachers can get their classroom involved in environmental conservation at their school or in their community to be an Ocean Guardian Classroom. • Everyone can download a free copy of the Ocean Guardian Activity Book to learn more about the ocean and why its important through word searches, games, and coloring pages. Find out more about the Ocean Guardian Programs at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/ocean_guardian_prog.html.

Mojave Max Emergence Contest

California's Mojave Max is a real desert tortoise who lives at The Living Desert in Palm Desert, California. When the weather turns cold, desert tortoises brumate; this is a reptilian form of hibernation. The Mojave Max Emergence Contest campaign is designed to increase understanding about how desert ecosystems work and especially how the desert tortoise and other native organisms are affected when ecosystems change. Desert tortoises are California's state reptile; they are also listed on federal and state endangered species list as threatened. Students can go on-line at http://www.deserttortoise.gov and register their guess for when Mojave Max will emerge from her burrow for the first time. Winners and their classes or groups will receive prizes.This year the contest is also including eligibility for prizes to youth groups and scouts as well as students enrolled in public, private, and registered home schools in the following counties: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura. The contest will remain open until Max emerges from her burrow. Students in grades 1-12 may enter the contest.

Health Jobs Start Here

Help your students think ahead! HealthJobsStartHere.com offers free tools for California science teachers and students. Direct your students to HealthJobsStartHere.com for information about salary and work environment, links to training programs, scholarships and volunteer opportunities and advice from real healthcare workers on ourFacebook community. Depending on location and availability, HealthJobsStartHere.com also has volunteer health care workers who can speak to your class about their jobs. Get in touch at Partner@HealthJobsStartHere.com for more information.

InventNow.org

InventNow.org encourages students to to explore and discover their own innate inventiveness and interests in space, sports, design, and entertainment. The site features ordinary children creating inventions to solve everyday problems. Check out http://www.inventnow.org/.