The Iowa Space Grant Consortium presents The Seventh Annual Space Week Science Challenge October 4-10, 2007

!! CONGRATULATIONS !!
THE WINNERS ARE...

WHAT TEACHERS COULD WIN:

• Meade ETX Astro telescope (or equivalent)
• Garmin e-TREX GPS receiver
• Class field trip to:
  • Science Station in Cedar Rapids; or,
  • Science Center of Iowa and IMAX in Des Moines.
• Inservice training session from Extension - Science Engineering and Technology (E-SET)
• A trip to the Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC) on January 31 - February 2, 2008, in Houston, Texas.

The total top prize package could be worth as much as $5,000.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO ENTER:

Any Iowa classroom of students from kindergarten through grade 12 attending a charter, public, private, religious, or home school is eligible to enter.  (Note: Home schoolers must form a group to be eligible.)  If you have questions about eligibility, call 1-800-854-1667.  The intent of this competition is to reward a classroom of students (normally from a few students to about 35 students) who meet during a specific hour.  It is NOT a chance to win the prize for an entire grade level or an entire school.

HOW THE COMPETITION WORKS:

During Space Week, October 4-10, students will participate in activities that include listening to the mid-day program from 12:00-1:00 p.m. on WOI-AM 640 each weekday during the contest. The broadcasts will also be available at our MP3 links page.

This year's competition will be based on the MarsBound! simulation listed below:

Marsbound! Mission to the Red Planet - All files listed below are PDF's

• Teacher's Guide
• Student's Guide
• MarsBound! Equipment Cards
• MarsBound! Design Mat
• MarsBound! "Certified Mission Planner"

Using the teacher's guide, divide your class into teams and go through the Marsbound! simulation. For further information on competition guidelines, please go to the supplemental information page.

HOW TO ENTER:

• Submit all teams' design logs along with the Space Week Science Challenge Entry form (available below).
• Entries must be postmarked no later than October 29, 2007 when mailed to the ISGC Office.

If you have trouble downloading these forms, please contact Carmen at 1-800-854-1667 or isgc@iastate.edu to request the form via e-mail.

HOW WINNERS ARE SELECTED:

The entries will be evaluated by ISGC staff on the following criteria:

1. Completion of entry requirements (see "How to Enter" above)
2. The best score of a team in the class (first criteria)
3. Overall scores of the class (second criteria)
4. Completion of Activity 5 for all students. This will be ranked as follows:
   • Clarity            = 25 pts
   • Quality           = 25 pts
   • Completeness = 50 pts

A winner will be selected from each level; K-3, 4-8, and 9-12 grades.  From these, an overall winner will be selected and the announcement will be posted here on Friday, November 16th.

If you have any questions, please contact Jay Staker at jstaker@iastate.edu, or 515-294-8417.