NASA Optimus Prime Spinoff Award Contest Open

Optimus Prime
Did you know that space technology is all around you? For example, the heart defibrillator and purified water are technologies developed by NASA engineers, scientists and innovators. NASA is required to share its technologies with the public. The public then can take these technologies and make them into something that you can use around your house, at school or even on the road. These are known as spinoffs.

NASA is collaborating with Hasbro using the correlation between the popular Transformers brand and spinoffs from NASA technologies. The OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award promotes NASA spinoffs, recognizes innovation through technology transfer and promotes innovative communication of spinoff stories to the public through video. The OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award serves to acknowledge the contribution of both NASA innovators and the companies that spun-off NASA technology for commercial applications, as well as to educate America’s youth about the benefits of NASA spinoff technology.

This is a video contest for students from third to eighth grade. Each student, or group of students, will submit a three- to five-minute video on a selected NASA spinoff technology listed in the 2009 Spinoff publication. Videos must demonstrate an understanding of the NASA spinoff technology and the associated NASA mission, as well as the commercial application and public benefit associated with the “transformed” technology. Video entries are due by December 31.

For more information about NASA Spinoffs check out the Spinoff Spotlight.

Link to the NASA Explorer Schools Virtual Campus website.