Math and science contests offer rewards for schools

Many companies and organizations are holding contests to encourage innovation in math and science education. These contest provide an excellent chance for classroom brainstorming and for teachers to exercise their skills and creative spark.

Some current contests include the following:

The Afterschool Alliance is sponsoring the STEM Impact Awards 2013. The organization is looking for extracurricular programs around the country that encourage critical thinking skills in the area of computer programming and engineering among students. They are offering a $10,000 reward for the program that is judged the best.

For those who want to exercise their artistic muscle, TopCoder is holding a Poster Design Contest to Help Girls into STEM. A reward of up to $5,000 awaits the person who can come up with a creating, eye-catching presentation that will help inspire girls to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering, or math.

L’Oreal holds essay and video contests throughout the year for girls who want to go into science. Their next contest is in July.

These and many other competitions, many of which can include hand on activities such as video game coding, take place all year round and their rewards are more far-reaching than just monetary ones.