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Tag: competitions

  • Google Science Fair 2013 Now Accepting Submissions

    For the third year, Google is holding an international science fair for teens.

    The Google Science Fair is a partnership between Google, CERN, LEGO, National Geographic, and Scientific American.

    “For the past two years, thousands of students from more than 90 countries have submitted research projects that address some of the most challenging problems we face today. Previous winners tackled issues such as the early diagnosis of breast cancer, improving the experience of listening to music for people with hearing loss and cataloguing the ecosystem found in water. This year we hope to once again inspire scientific exploration among young people and receive even more entries for our third competition,” says Google.

    It’s all about “finding the next generation of scientists and engineers.” And a chance for teens to compete for pretty sweet prizes, too, like a $50,000 scholarship, a trip to the Galapagos, hands-on experiences with CERN, $10,000 cash grant to the winnner’s school, and more.

    The Google Science Fair will be accepting submissions from students aged 13 to 18 until April 30th. In June, Google will select 90 regional finalists (30 from North and South America, 30 from Asia, and 30 from Europe/Africa). Out of those 90, 15 will emerge as finalists and will be jetted to Google HQ in Mountain View.

    On September 23rd, a panel of judges will pick the winners – one in each age category and an overall Grand Prize winner

    You can check out slideshows from all the past winners here.

    If you’re interested, you can head to the Google Science Fair hub to start your project.

  • Paralympic Games Begin Tomorrow in London

    Paralympic Games Begin Tomorrow in London

    The 2012 Paralympic Games are set to kick off tomorrow evening in London. The 14th Paralympic Games will host around 4,200 athletes from 166 countries, including over 200 athletes from the U.S. Many of the U.S. athletes competing are military veterans who lost limbs or sustained other injuries during their service.

    Tonight a 24-hour torch relay will begin the countdown to the opening of the games. The Paralympic Flame will be carried by torches 92 miles through English communities. 116 teams of five people will carry the torch to its destination at the opening ceremony in Stoke Mandevill Stadium tomorrow evening. The torches will originate from the four highest mountain peaks in Scotland, Wales, England, and Northern Ireland.

    The London 2012 Paralympic Games will run from tomorrow until September 9 and will use many of the same venues that the London 2012 Olympic Games did. Many of the sports featured in the Paralympic Games are also the same as those in the Olympics, including, archery, equestrian, judo, powerlifting, rowing, and swimming. Special equipment is often used by Paralympic athletes when competing, and some sports, such as sitting volleyball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair rugby, and wheelchair basketball are unique to the Paralympic Games.

    The Summer Paralympics began in 1960 with the first games held in Rome. The Paralympic Games are held immediately following the Olympic Games, and Winter Paralympic Games began in 1976. Paralympic athletes compete in categories specific to their impairment, including limb deficiency or loss, ataxia, visual impairment, short stature, and intellectual impairment.

    Sports fans can watch the 2012 Paralympic Games from the Paralympics website, which will stream five different channels of live Paralympics coverage. Check out the preview video of the games below, which look every bit as exciting as this year’s Olympic Games.

  • America’s Got Talent YouTube Winners To Perform Tuesday

    Back on May 4th, America’s Got Talent asked for your submissions on YouTube.

    This is the second year in a row that the popular contest has devoted a show to YouTube hopefuls. This year’s finalists will be performing Tuesday night (August 9th) and America will vote to advance 4 acts. The results shows will air on Wednesday (August 10th)

    Here’s how the competition worked –

    If you can sing, dance, juggle, or pretty much perform any other talent, send us your video from today until June 9 at midnight ET at youtube.com/agt. We’ll gather the videos and ask for your votes from June 28 to July 8. And this year, you can also submit and vote for your favorite videos on your Android devices and iPhone.

    An expert panel of NBC representatives will review the submissions and select the top 20 entrants. Those 20 entrants will go live on the AGT YouTube channel, where the YouTube community gets to vote for their favorite to become The YouTube People’s Choice Winner, with a guaranteed spot on the AGT YouTube Special episodes taping August 9 and 10. The grand finale will air on September 14.

    That list of 20 submissions has been narrowed down to 12, with the YouTube community picking this as their favorite –

    And here is a list of the rest of the YouTube hopefuls who will perform on Tuesday night’s show (Courtesy of Google+Reader”>Mashable)

      Aeon – Los Angeles, California (parkour)
      Beth Ann Robinson – Dothan, Alabama (dancer)
      Breena Bell – Lincoln, Alabama (solo gymnast/dancer)
      Illusionist Brett Daniels – Walkersville, Wisconsin (magician)
      Gabe Rocks – Bellingham, Washington (animal act)
      Gymkana – College Park, Maryland (variety)
      Kalani Basketball Freestyle – Honolulu, Hawaii (variety)
      Kevin Colis – New Braunfels, Texas (singer)
      Powerhouse – Burbank, California (choir)
      TNC Elite – members from Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina (cloggers)

    In my opinion, you can’t beat a bulldog on a rocking horse. “Gabe Rocks” gives us just that –

    America’s Got Talent continues to be the most watched program of the summer. Both the performance and results shows are top hits for NBC and were the only two programs to average more than 9 million viewers last week. America’s Got Talent has been on the top of the charts for 7 straight weeks.