New Jersey Students Win NASA, USA TODAY National
Competition
In the "No Boundaries" competition,
sponsored by NASA and USA Today, students work in small groups or
individually to develop a project that markets careers at NASA to
teens. They selected one of the four STEM (science, technology,
engineering, or math) disciplines and choose a career within that
discipline. The members of the group then research that career from
different perspectives and develop an innovative project that
showcased the career and included each group member's work.
Finally, the teams present their completed career research projects
to a group of their peers.
The 2010 winning entry was "Let's Get Materialistic" by the team
of Kristine Baltazar, Elka Chowdhury, Jenna DiRito, and Neil
Montwani from Saddle Brook Middle School in Saddle Brook, NJ. The
team chose to focus on materials engineering and won the
competition with an old-fashion styled black and white art
portfolio.
"We strongly believe in the importance of providing
opportunities where students can learn about STEM careers by actual
example," said Alotta Taylor, manager for education in NASA's Space
Operations Mission Directorate. "Programs like 'No Boundaries' are
instrumental in making these careers come alive for students."
Honorable mentions include second place to Zoe Bentley, of the
Sahuaro Girl Scout Council in Tuscon, AZ, for her "Exogeology
ROCKS!" and third place to Ronnel Boettcher and Cory Smith, of
Enterprise High School in Redding, CA, for their "Astronomy: No
Boundaries."
USA TODAY will present the first place winners with a $2,000
cash prize and present second place winners with $1,000. The
teacher or sponsor of the winners will receive $500. NASA will
provide the first place winners with a VIP guest tour of the
agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Because of
the exemplary efforts of second place winner Zoe Bentley, NASA
added a special VIP visit to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, CA, to her award package.
"We are very impressed by the efforts of all the entrants," said
Jerry Hartman, education lead for NASA's Exploration Systems
Mission Directorate. "By participating in 'No Boundaries,' these
young men and women are learning what it takes to be part of the
next generation of explorers."
No Boundaries is a joint initiative between NASA's Space
Operations and Exploration Systems Mission Directorates. NASA also
partners with USA TODAY Education. The program encourages students
to explore STEM careers through stimulating, project-based learning
and team competition. No Boundaries targets students in grades 7-12
and is designed as a team-centered cooperative learning
project.