Got Ideas? Google Science Fair Deadline Looms

I can still remember my dad helping me make a Morse Code transmitter using a D battery, a flashlight bulb, some electrical tape and wires, and a 2x4. I am not sure if it was my idea, or his, but together we created something that worked, and made me feel good about sending dots and dashes by way of a flashing light, to my sister on the other side of the room, who was there to decode my message.

Probably something like "Drink More Ovaltine."

Anyway, I didn't invent anything new, and I didn't win the science fair, but it's one of a limited number of childhood experiences I have carried with me all these years later, for one thing, because it was hands on. For another, because my dad and I worked it out together. 

This is the joy of learning, and science. Not all schools hold science fairs, but those that do have probably seen some pretty remarkable projects over the years. 

Google is taking that shot at remarkability to a global level with its Google Science Fair, looking to broaden our collective interest in STEM education – science, technology, engineering and math – and it's not too late for your inventive kid to get in on the excitement.

Google Science Fair is an international, online science and technology competition that encourages students between the ages of 13 to 18 to be curious, ask questions, and perform science experiments to answer those questions. In partnership with CERN, The Lego Group, National Geographic, and Scientific American, Google invites these students to post their science projects online so that they may compete for prizes, scholarships, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. 

Google Science Fair 2013 launched on January 30. The project deadline for the competition is April 30, and the finalists/Science in Action Award will be announced in June.

Interested students and teachers should visit googlesciencefair.com to learn more and sign up.