It is designed to encourage students to combine their imagination with their knowledge of science and technology to explore visions of the future. Teams of students select a technology, research how it works and why it was invented, and then project how that technology may change in the future. They must then identify what breakthroughs are required for their vision to become a reality and describe the positive and negative consequences of their technology on society. Winning ideas have focused on things as simple as ballpoint pens and as complex as satellite communications. The student teams write a paper and draw a series of web page graphics to describe their idea.
Regional winners make a website and a prototype of their future vision.
It is what science is all about. It permits students to think of themselves as investigators. They learn new ways to approach problems. They learn how to make connections to their existing knowledge base. They learn to visualize and invent in reference to what is known.