Aim of Toshiba awards program is pupil-teacher science research

The ExploraVision competition offers top prizes of $10,000 U.S. Savings Bonds.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Toshiba Corp. and the National Science Teachers Association are offering high school science teachers and pupils a chance to make a really big bang in science class.
Since its inception in 1993, the Toshiba NSTA ExploraVision Awards Program has motivated more than 200,000 pupils in grades K-12 since its inception in 1993 to discover the fun and excitement of science, and to learn how to see its wonders in the world all around them.
The ExploraVision program is one of the world's largest K-12 science and technology competitions, in which two-to-four-member pupil teams choose a current technology, research and explore its background, then imagine what it might be like in 20 years.
Pupils ground their creative ideas using real science and present their invention using written descriptions and artwork. They also discuss the possible positive and negative consequences that could occur should their vision become reality, just like real scientists.
Prizes
Winning pupils on the four first-place teams each receive a $10,000 US Savings Bond (series EE Savings Bonds issued at $5,000).
Pupils on second-place teams each receive a $5,000 US Savings Bond (series EE Savings Bonds issued at $2,500).
In the first phase of the competition, a judging committee reviews and selects 24 winning projects, one from each of four grade-level categories (K-3; 4-6; 7-9; 10-12) in six regions across the United States and Canada.
Each member of the 24 regional winning teams, including coaches and teachers, will be awarded a special gift, and their schools will receive a Toshiba laptop computer and software.
In the second phase of the competition, the 24 regional finalist teams create Web pages showcasing their technology. The judges then choose eight national winning teams.
Finalist team members, parents and coaches will be awarded a trip to Washington, D.C. in June 2006 for a gala celebration at which their awards will be presented.
To enter
The deadline for ExploraVision entries is January 31, 2006.
To obtain entry materials and a copy of the official rules, visit the ExploraVision Web site at www.exploravision.org; call (800) EXPLOR-9; or write to Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards, 1840 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201.
This year Toshiba is celebrating its 130th anniversary, and, in recognition of that, will present its first Inspiration Award in 2006, honoring educators who reflect the company's ideals and have been true evangelists of ExploraVision by using the program to inspire and motivate pupils.
Five teachers who have entered the program, but never won at the national level, will be flown to Washington, D.C., for the annual ExploraVision Awards Weekend in June 2006 to accept their awards.