Google Inc. is calling all young inventors, dreamers, coders, and problem-solvers. Google Science Fair 2018 is officially open! It is an online science and technology competition, open to full-time and home-schooled students between the ages of 13 and 18 from around the world.
A good idea can come from anyone, anywhere. If you’re 13-18 years old, they’d love for you to join them in sharing your best ideas. with the world using (STEM) science, technology, engineering, and math.
Google Science Fair 2018 is administrated by MardenKane, Inc. and sponsored by Google LLC, Lego, Virgin Galactic, National Geographic, and Scientific American.
Table of Contents
- This competition is open to full-time and home-schooled students around the world; between the ages of 13 and 18 (these ages are slightly different in a few countries like Israel, South Korea, and Europe).
- Competition is open to individuals 13 years of age as of December 12, 2018, and 18 years of age as of September 13, 2018.
- No individual can register for or enter the Competition until they turn 13.
- If an Entrant turns 19 during submission period they will not be disqualified.
- All Entrants must have permission from a parent or legal guardian to enter this Competition.
- Sponsor reserves the right to verify an individual’s eligibility to participate in the Competition.
- Country Specific Requirements:
- Entrants from the 28 member countries in the European Union must be at least 16 years of age as of December 12, 2018. (see https://europa.eu/europeanunion/abouteu/countries_en)
- Entrants from South Korea and Israel must be at least 14 years of age as of December 12, 2018.
- Minors – Parents and Legal Guardians: The parent or legal guardian of an Entrant under the legal age of majority in his/her jurisdiction of residence.
- Previous Winners of Google Science Fair (of any award and/or prize) are not eligible to participate in Google Science Fair 2018.
- The Competition is not open to residents of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, the Crimea Region, and any other U.S. sanctioned country and is void where prohibited by law.
How to Apply:
To apply, the applicants must select an area of interest to get ideas for your project: Tech, Robotics, Space, Health, Community, Food, AI, Travel, and Energy, and register to submit their project at https://www.googlesciencefair.com/register
- Students can register on their own, or as teams of up to three. The competition divided into age categories: there are two age groups: 13-15 and 16-18.
It’s easy to get started: You can go solo or grab some friends.
- Find a problem you’d like to solve.
- Think up ideas and select the best one.
- Explore your solution by testing it out.
- Share your results.
The Google Science Fair is free for everyone. Entrants can select one (1) of the following topics as the main topic and up to two (2) sub-topics for their Entry:
- Flora & Fauna, Food Science, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Inventions & Innovation, Electricity & Electronics, Robotics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Behavioral & Social Sciences, Energy & Space, Astrophysics, and Computer Science & Math
Entrants must complete all sections of the template on the Competition Site:
- Section 1: Summary: A brief overview of your Entry.
- Optional additions to your summary (submit only one (1) of the following options): a two (2) minute video (YouTube only) or
- A slideshow (Google Slides only) with a maximum of twenty (20) slides Note: Videos not produced using YouTube and slides not produced using Google Slides will be disqualified and not viewed.
- Section 2: About Me: Introduce yourself/your team.
- Section 3: Question/Proposal: Describe the question that you are investigating and your hypothesis, or the problem that you are going to try to solve and the outcome that you expect.
- Section 4: Research: An account of the research that you have done in your chosen category, and how this has influenced your Entry.
- Section 5: Method/Testing and Redesign: Describe in detail how you carried out your experiment or tested your solution.
- Section 6: Results: Data and observations gathered during your experiment or testing, presented clearly, including a description of any patterns or trends.
- Section 7: Conclusion/Report: An explanation of how your experiment or testing answers your question, or why it fails to do so, and whether or not the outcome was as you expected. Section 8: Bibliography, References, and Acknowledgements
Technical and Language Requirements:
- Optional Entry Summary Video (YouTube only): Maximum running time is two (2) minutes. If the video is longer than two (2) minutes, only the initial two (2) minutes will be judged.
- Optional Entry Summary Slideshow (Google Slides only): Maximum of twenty (20) slides. If the presentation is longer than twenty (20) slides, only the first twenty (20) slides will be judged.
- Language: Submissions may be submitted in one of the following languages: English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Arabic, Hebrew, Polish, Japanese, Russian, Turkish, Portuguese, Korean, or Chinese (simplified or traditional). However, you may submit Entries in any language, provided you also provide an English translation/script for English speaking judges. The language used for submission will have no impact on an Entrant’s or Team’s opportunity to progress in the Competition.
Now, let’s talk prizes. (179 to be exact.)
- Grand Prize: $50,000 Take home an education scholarship.
- Lego Education Award: $15,000 scholarship and travel to LEGO® in Billund, Denmark.
- National Geographic Explorer Award: $15,000 scholarship and take an expedition to explore your world.
- Scientific American – Innovator Award: $15,000 scholarship and set sail with scientists across the world.
- Virgin Galactic – Pioneer Award: $15,000 scholarship and tour Virgin Galactic’s Facilities.
- Inspiring Educator: $5,000 gift card from LEGO Education for educational products.
- 20 Global Finalists:
- Travel to Google headquarters.
- A LEGO Education Goodie Bag.
- A Google Goodie Bag
- National Geographic Subscription: A subscription to National Geographic magazine for 12 months starting on or about September 2019.
- Scientific American Subscription: Individual print and digital subscription to Scientific American magazine for 12 months starting on or about September 2019.
- Virgin Galactic Goodie Bag
- ARV per Finalist Prize: US$800
- 53 State Winners: Score an Android tablet and other goodies.
- 100 Regional Winners: Score a Chromebook and other goodies.
- Submissions will close on December 12th, 2018, at 11:59:59 PM PT.
- Global finalists will be announced in May 2019.
- Regional finalists announced: April 2019
- Global finalists announced: May 2019
Need a hand? They’ve got you covered with a library full of tips, guides, and how-tos.
- For students: https://www.googlesciencefair.com/student-resources
- For educators: https://www.googlesciencefair.com/educator-resources