51 Schools Named State Winners in Samsung’s $2 Million* National STEAM Contest

Schools Representing Every U.S. State and Washington, D.C. Will Apply STEAM Skills to Improve Local Communities in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest
Dec 14, 2017 10:00 AM ET

51 Schools Named State Winners in Samsung’s $2 Million* National STEAM Contest

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., December 14, 2017 /3BL Media/ - Samsung Electronics America, Inc. has announced the 51 state winners in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest – a nationwide competition that challenges students to creatively use STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) skills to address real-world issues and inspire change in their local communities. This year’s projects include everything from apps promoting kindness and empathy, to automatic wildfire extinguishing systems, and technology to address the opioid epidemic.

The 51 state winners were selected from thousands of schools representing communities across the country. The winning classrooms were selected from the outstanding lesson plans submitted by teachers, outlining the projects students will undertake to solve a local issue using STEAM skills. As state winners, each of the 51 schools will receive a minimum of a $25,000* in Samsung technology for their achievement, and the 10 that progress to the national finalist stage will compete for the next round of prizes.

“This year’s Solve for Tomorrow state winners chose to tackle some of the most daunting obstacles and issues facing our planet and society today,” said Ann Woo, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship, Samsung Electronics America. “I am truly awed by the thoughtfulness and originality behind the ideas put forth by these students and teachers to take on issues ranging from the environment to health and community-building. The proposed solutions use complex technologies and systems, like connected technologies, virtual reality and augmented reality, in unexpected and creative ways. Through a contest that inspires collaboration and creativity, these kids are showing that with imagination and empathy, the sky is the limit when it comes to making an impact.” 

At this phase of the contest, the state winners will work on their STEAM projects in the classroom and, with a Samsung-provided video kit, each school will create a video of their project in action and how it addresses the real-world issue they’re aiming to solve.

Schools have until February 13, 2018 to work on their projects and submit their video, in hopes of advancing in the contest to proceed through the following remaining phases:

  • National finalists: 10 national finalists will be selected to attend a Pitch Event where they will present their project to a panel of judges. For achieving national finalist status, 7 schools will receive a $50,000* Samsung technology package. The other three will progress to the national winner stage.
  • National grand prize winners: 3 national winners will be selected and each will receive a $150,000* Samsung technology package.
  • Community Choice Award: All of the 10 national finalists will be eligible to win an additional $20,000* Samsung technology package based on social media voting.

The state winners are:

State

School

City

Alaska

Tanana Middle School

Fairbanks

Alabama

Winfield Middle School

Winfield

Arkansas

eStem Junior High

Little Rock

Arizona

The STAR School

Flagstaff

California

Santiago High School

Corona

Colorado

Arvada West High School

Arvada

Connecticut

Engineering and Science University Magnet School

West Haven

Washington D.C.

Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter High School

Washington

Delaware

Millsboro Middle School

Millsboro

Florida

Niceville High School

Niceville

Georgia

Lee County Middle School West Campus

Leesburg

Hawaii

Kalani High School

Honolulu

Iowa

Wilton Community School District

Wilton

Idaho

Another Choice Virtual Charter School

Nampa

Illinois

Edison Middle School

Wheaton

Indiana

South Adams Schools

Berne

Kansas

Frontier Trail Middle School

Olathe

Kentucky

Ashland Middle School

Ashland

Louisiana

Sulphur High School

Sulphur

Massachusetts

Old Rochester High School

Mattapoisett

Maryland

Hereford High School

Parkton

Maine

Noble High School

North Berwick

Michigan

Kent Career Tech Center

Grand Rapids

Minnesota

Shakopee Senior High School

Shakopee

Missouri

Carthage Junior High School

Carthage

Mississippi

Moss Point Technical Education Center

Moss Point

Montana

Lewistown Junior High School

Lewistown

North Carolina

Thomas Jefferson Middle School

Winston-Salem

North Dakota

Richland #44

Colfax

Nebraska

Gering High School

Gering

New Hampshire

Windham High School

Windham

New Jersey

Cavallini Middle School

Upper Saddle River

New Mexico

Thoreau High School

Thoreau

Nevada

Hyde Park Middle School

Las Vegas

New York

Thomas A. Edison CTE High School

Jamaica

Ohio

Canfield High School

Canfield

Oklahoma

Gracemont High School

Gracemont

Oregon

Clear Creek Middle School

Gresham

Pennsylvania

Halifax High School

Halifax

Rhode Island

West Warwick High School

West Warwick

South Carolina

Ten Oak Middle

Myrtle Beach

South Dakota

Oldham-Ramona School District

Ramona

Tennessee

Central Magnet School

Murfreesboro

Texas

Briarhill Middle School

Highland Village

Utah

Sunrise Ridge Intermediate School

St. George

Virginia

Deep Creek Middle School

Chesapeake

Vermont

St. Albans City School

St. Albans

Washington

Waterville High School

Waterville

Wisconsin

Omro High School

Omro

West Virginia

Calhoun-Gilmer Career Center

Grantsville

Wyoming

Newcastle High School

Newcastle

For Official Rules and judging criteria, click here.

The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest was created in 2010 to encourage innovation among young students while addressing the technology gap in classrooms across the country. Since 2001, Samsung has provided more than $60 million to more than 1,200 public schools and community organizations in the United States through its many citizenship initiatives.

To learn more, please visit www.samsung.com/solve or follow the contest on Instagram @SolveForTomorrow.

*Prize is based on an estimated retail value.

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.

Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, N.J., Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a recognized innovative leader in consumer electronics, mobile devices and enterprise solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA is pushing beyond the limits of today’s technology and providing consumers and organizations with a portfolio of groundbreaking products in appliances, home entertainment, Internet of Things, mobile computing, smartphones, virtual reality, wireless infrastructure and wearables, in addition to offering leading content and services related to mobile payments, 360-degree VR video, customer support and more. Samsung is a pioneering leader in smartphones and HDTVs in the U.S. and one of America’s fastest growing home appliance brands. To discover more about Samsung, please visit www.samsung.com. For the latest Samsung news, please visit news.samsung.com/us and follow us @SamsungNewsUS.

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