Category Archives: STEM Challenge

Today at the Cooney Center, we are proud and excited to announce that the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge is officially open for entries. This nationwide competition invites game makers of every age to show their passion for both playing and making video games, while aiming to motivate children’s interests in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). With four different categories and multiple streams to submit to, there’s something for almost everyone.  The Middle School and High School categories…

Today at the Cooney Center, we are proud and excited to announce that the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge is officially open for entries. This nationwide competition invites game makers of every age to show their passion for both playing and making video games, while aiming to motivate children’s interests in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). With four different categories and multiple streams to submit to, there’s something for almost everyone.  The Middle School and High School categories…

Dan Caldwell was a finalist in the 2011 National STEM Video Game Challenge who inspired the creation of the Educator Prize. Participating in the first National STEM Video Game Challenge has opened amazing doors for me, most importantly the opportunity to work full-time on my sciTunes Education Products Inc. curriculum.  I have also had the pleasure to meet with a number of incredible people who have shared great insights with me, and I hope to continue to build and develop…

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center and E-Line Media were at the White House today, where  U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the launch of the new Digital Promise Initiative. First established as a non-profit organization created by the President and. Congress through the Department of Education as an effort to promote breakthrough technologies  to transform teaching and learning. The 2011 National STEM Video Game Challenge is one of the new initiatives that the Administration hopes will spur research and…

It’s hard to believe that the National STEM Video Game Challenge has come to a close. The Cooney Center team has just returned from D.C., where we invited the six finalists of the Collegiate and Developer streams of the competition to the Quick-Pitch Competition on Tuesday, March 29. Each team had a total of 20 minutes to present their prototypes and answer questions before a panel of judges at the Pew Center for American Life.   We were thrilled to…

Last week, our colleagues at Microsoft announced the full availability of the Kodu Game Lab for the PC and the launch of a nationwide Kodu Cup competition. The competition invites students, aged nine to 17 to design, build and submit their own video games. This post by Cooney Center Research Fellow Gabrielle Cayton-Hodges originally appeared on the Microsoft Unlimited Potential blog. There’s a growing body of evidence that both playing video games and making video games have promise as educational…

The first annual National STEM Video Game Challenge is now open for applications. This nationwide challenge invites game makers big and small to show their passion for playing and making video games. This competition aims to motivate children’s interests in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The Developer Prize challenges experienced game developers to design mobile games, including games for the mobile Web, for young children (grades pre-K through 4) that teach key Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) concepts…

  President Obama is announcing our National STEM Video Game Challenge today at 3:15pm EST. Tune in to the LIVE Webcast. Inspired by the “Educate to Innovate” campaign, President Obama’s initiative to promote a renewed focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, the National STEM Video Game Challenge aims to motivate interest in STEM learning among America’s youth by tapping into students’ natural passions for playing and making video games. The first annual competition is being held by…

Cooney Center Prize winner, Yasser Ansari (team leader for Project NOAH), dropped in last week to update the Center on the progress of their mobile app since winning in June. View the video now! Learn more about Project NOAH   Learn more about the Cooney Center Prizes and stay tuned for info on our National STEM Video Game Challenge, starting this Fall.

Reprinted from the January 2010 Cooney Center Bits Newsletter: Supporting President Obama’s call for a renewed focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and partners, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the Information Technology Industry Foundation (ITIF), the MacArthur Foundation, Games for Change, and E-Line Media are developing a variety of initiatives that harness the engagement and educational potential of video games to advance children’s learning. The Early Childhood STEM Game Challenge is co-funded by…