Tag Archives: national stem video game challenge

Together with our partners at the Smithsonian and E-Line Media, we are thrilled to announce that the National STEM Video Game Challenge is now open for its fourth year! The Challenge aims to motivate interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning among youth by tapping into their natural passions for playing and making video games. The competition is held in partnership with founding sponsor the Entertainment Software Association and the generous support of the Institute of Museum and…

Like most teenagers, Nicolas Badila, 15, spent Memorial Day playing video games. But, unlike his friends, he was playing games at the White House. Nic, one of the winners of the 2013 National STEM Video Game Challenge, had been invited to showcase his winning game at the White House Science Fair on May 27. The White House Science Fair began three years ago as part of Obama’s Educate to Innovate campaign. Why, Obama asked the audience, do presidents traditionally meet…

In England at the turn of the last century, a young man named Jacob (whose last name is not known) was on his way to a society event dressed in his finest attire and carrying only his umbrella in case of rain. Naturally, his journey was beset with obstacles. A barrier placed in the middle of the street (by a misguided commissioner, perhaps) that could only be escalated by climbing a delivery crate. Rain clouds hanging low like giant parade…

This year, I had the great privilege to attend the Digital Media and Learning Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, where I had organized a panel called “Creating Youth Builders – Promoting a New Game Design Ecosystem to Engage Hard-to-Reach Youth in Learning.” The heavy hitters on the panel included Jennifer Groff, a graduate researcher at the MIT Media Lab and the VP of Learning for the Learning Games Network, Ricarose Roque, a PhD student with the Scratch Team at the MIT…

One morning last summer in DeRidder, Louisiana, Angel Acevedo-Martinez’s father came into his room and woke him up with exciting news. Angel’s 6th grade math teacher, Miss Sanchez was on the phone to tell him that his game, The Arcade, had been chosen as a winner in the National STEM Video Game Challenge in Washington, DC. Before that spring, Angel had never designed a game of his own, and now here he was, an award winner in a national competition!…

Now that the 2013 National STEM Video Game Challenge has wrapped up, we are busy analyzing the results of this year’s competition and the activities that surrounded it. One of the areas we’ve been digging into are the game design workshops that took place around the country with the support of organizations like the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences and the HIVE Digital Media Learning Fund in the New York Community Trust.  In this post, we’ll look at some…

Each week, we are introducing you to a winner of the STEM Challenge. Last week, we profiled Brianna Igbnosun, the Scratch High School Winner, and this week we are thrilled to introduce you to Brad Schmitz, the Scratch Middle School winner. An 8th grader from Glandorf, Ohio, Brad Schmitz is a Boy Scout who sees himself as “more outgoing than most.” His curious nature prompts him to try things that most would never consider and to always push himself. And…

This is the first installment of a series featuring the winners of the 2013 National STEM Video Game Challenge. Stay tuned for a new profile of each of our student winners each week! We’re not sure if it was Brianna’s drive, clever strategizing, or keen shirt-designing skills that helped her clinch the title of Best Scratch High School game in the National STEM Video Game Challenge, but we’re happy to introduce you to Brianna Igbinosun and to share her game…

Video game artist Lisette Titre took some time to answer questions from the STEM Challenge community recently. Check out her responses to aspiring game designers in this video.

Rhys, 10, is an aspiring game designer in Texas who uses Gamestar Mechanic to create worlds to play in. He talks about the importance of stories and creating challenges to engage players. Thanks to Edutopia and PBS for sharing this video from the upcoming documentary Is School Enough? More videos in the Web series (on Edutopia) and an hour-long broadcast special (on PBS) to come in Fall 2013.