Tag Archives: national stem video game challenge

Scratch makes it easy to create games using programming blocks that snap together, in the spirit of LEGO bricks. You can customize your Scratch projects by drawing or importing your own images and sounds. Since Scratch was released in 2007, more than a million kids (age 8 and up) have used it to create games, animations, simulations, and many other kinds of programs. Here are a few examples of cool games that young people have created with Scratch — including…

Today we are living in a world where our lives are being shaped in fundamental ways by the products of science and their application in technology. For millions of youth, videogames are a big part of some of their earliest and up-close encounters with advanced technologies that incorporate computer simulations, visualization, communication, and digital art among other things. Playing videogames is gaining increased recognition as a valuable educational activity both within formal (in-school), and informal (out-of-school) settings. Research studies have…

Over the past decade, the steady increase in the accessibility of the Internet has put new technologies at the fingertips of many. This evolving platform presents a niche for the development of digital literacy and a growing market for information technologies. With deep commitment to a mission serving the youth who need us most, my team and I at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (BGCGW) take on the responsibility of ensuring that every member who comes through…

The Cooney Center and E-Line Media are preparing for the third year of the National STEM Video Game Challenge. This year’s competition is open to middle and high school youth, who are invited original game designs beginning in January 2013 for the opportunity to earn recognition and prizes for themselves, as well as monetary prizes for their schools. This year, we’ll also be offering opportunities for mentors to get involved through a new website featuring toolkits, resources and curriculum. Plus,…

Congratulations to Dan Caldwell, one of our 2011 National STEM Challenge Video Game winners. His app, Body Adventure with Captain Brainy-Pants! is now available in the iTunes App Store. The app includes six games that explore the systems of the human body and features original music composed by Dan himself   Body Adventure with Captain Brain-Pants is now available for iPad, Android, Kindle, and Nook. Watch the trailer below, and check out the game in the App Store.    

Hello again! When I wrote my blog post on my experiences as one of the Educator Winners from the 2012 STEM Video Game Challenge, I didn’t have a chance to discuss my method for designing games for students. I’ve thought about this quite a bit, and wanted to share some of my tips with other aspiring game designers here. First, there are two good articles on video games and learning at the STEM Challenge website at the bottom of their Resources page. These…

Hello everyone! My name is Marty Esterman and I am the Educator Grand Prize winner for the PBS Kids stream in this year’s STEM Video Game Challenge event for my entry, AdditionBlocks. I have been quite humbled by this whole experience-and I want to thank The Joan Ganz Cooney Center, PBS Kids, E-Line Media, and the AMD Foundation for all their support. I have met some really great people! I also want to thank my wife, Stacy, who has also been…

This year’s National STEM Video Game Challenge was a record-breaking event for the Cooney Center and our partners at E-Line Media. With more categories and subcategories than ever before, we counted more than 3,700 entries from middle and high school students and nearly 100 within the adult categories from all over the country. The student winners—28 from 11 states and the District of Columbia—were honored at the Celebration for Success at the Smithsonian American Art Museum last Monday. The youth winners will…

An adventure game where your character moves around by manipulating the attractive and repulsive forces of the atom. A 3D battle against pathogens inside the human body. An early learning game starring a shark that teaches first graders about inequalities. They could be the latest releases from a premiere educational game studio, but these and 14 other incredible games were all made by students between the ages of 10 and 18: the winners of the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge Youth Prize. On Monday, May…

We’re thrilled to release the newest addition to the series of video case studies put out by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, in collaboration with and support from BrainPOP. In this video, Steve Isaacs, a Technology Instructor at William Annin Middle School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, shares how he integrates video game design and development into his 7th grade curriculum.  Steve’s emphasis on the design process helps students develop essential 21st century skills, while sparking students’ interest and motivation through…