The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) congratulates the national winners of the 12th annual eCYBERMISSION competition, which NSTA administered for the U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program. The online collaborative learning competition cultivates student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) by encouraging sixth through ninth-graders to develop solutions to real-world challenges in their communities. The winning teams (and their supportive families and teachers) have quite a bit to be proud of. More than 4,400 teams entered the eCYBERMISSION competition this year, but only 20 made it to the National Judging & Educational Event finals last week at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, VA.

Who are these brilliant kids? The 2013-14 national winning teams are:

• 6th Grade: Quake Safe, Gahanna Middle School East, Gahanna, OH
• 7th Grade: Ants Go Marchin’ 2 by 2, Science Rocks U, Whiteface, TX
• 8th Grade: Bro x 4, Wheatland Middle School, Wheatland, WY
• 9th Grade: Crabyotics, Taos Middle/High School, Taos, NM

Each member of the winning team received $5,000 in U.S. E.E. Savings Bonds (matured value), in addition to the $1,000 awarded to them as state winners and $2,000 as regional first-place winners.

The AEOP initiated STEM-in-Action grants this year, up to $5,000 to four national finalist teams whose implementation plans prove that their projects provide the greatest possible impact within their communities. The 2013–14 STEM-in-Action grant winners are:

• Crabyotics, Taos Middle/High School, Taos, NM
• CyberRams, Rocky Run Middle School, Chantilly, VA
• Knightettes of the Twisters, Jenks Middle School, Tulsa, OK
• Ravenclaws, Metea Valley High School, Aurora, IL

In an eCYBERMISSION first, NSTA presented the inaugural People’s Choice Award to The Nighthawks, from Marshall County High School, Benton, KY.  The team was chosen by online viewers of the National Showcase which featured presentations by the 20 finalist teams. Viewers voted for their favorite project via Twitter using the hashtag #ecyber14. The team received a set of four iPads from NSTA.

Other awardees included:

• Team Advisor of the Year: Randy Bell, a 34-year science teacher presently teaching 6th, 7th and 8th grade science at Resurrection Christian School in Loveland, Colorado
• Ambassador of the Year: Dee Richardson, education services specialist for the New York City Army Recruiting Battalion
• CyberGuide of the Year: Amy Klopotoski, the Contingency Basing Science & Technology Lead at Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center
• Virtual Judge of the Year: Philip Samudio, a CES Advance Course Instructor at the Army Management Staff College

While at the NJ&EE, the 71 students of the finalist teams and their Team Advisors met with their Senators and Representatives or their staffs on Capitol Hill, toured national monuments and museums on the Capitol Mall, and participated in the STEM Challenge, in which representatives from the U.S. Army labs engaged students in hands-on activities and interactive demonstrations of the government’s top technologies.

Read the eCYBERMISSION press release to learn more, browse images on the Facebook album, or visit the flickr album with the National Luncheon pictures!

Today’s Guest Blogger is Kate Falk, Senior Manager, Public Relations, National Science Teachers Association