Open to all U.S. and Department of Defense Education Activity students in grades six through nine, eCYBERMISSION is a free, web-based, science, math and technology competition that allows students to work together to solve a problem in their community while using the scientific method.
“As a nation, we are falling behind in the number of students pursuing careers in science, math and technology,” said Michael Lombardi, Research, Development, Engineering Command Program Manager for eCYBERMISSION. “eCYBERMISSION introduces students to the application of these subjects in a fun and interesting way, ultimately helping to solve a problem in their own communities. The Army hopes to encourage more students to take an interest in science, math and technology, as skills in these areas are vital to our nation’s security and defense.”
Teams are comprised of three to four students with an adult Team Advisor to serve as a mentor. To participate, teams must choose a project that falls into one of three Mission Challenge categories—Sports & Recreation, Environment, or Health & Safety—or accept the new Scenario Challenge. Students formulate a hypothesis, conduct research and experiments to test their theory, and compile their data into a Mission Folder, which is submitted along with any supporting documentation on the eCYBERMISSION web site. Students compete at both the regional and national level for up to $8,000 in U.S. EE Savings Bonds. Since the competition’s inception in 2002, the U.S. Army has awarded more than $6.7 million in prize money, and over 58,000 students have participated.
Registration for the 2009-2010 competition year will remain open through Dec. 18, 2009, and final Mission Folder submissions are due on Feb. 26, 2010.
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For more information and to register, please visit www.ecybermission.com [1] or contact eCYBERMISSION Mission Control at 1-866-GO-CYBER (462-9237) or via e-mail at missioncontrol@ecybermission.com [2].
For more latest news and updates, follow eCYBERMISSION at http://ecybermission.blogspot.com [3] and http://twitter.com/ecybermission/ [4].