2008
News Release
local students invited to
advance to toychallenge nationalS AT
THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Alexandria,
Virginia
(4/1/08) – White Brook Middle
School students, Rachel
Connell, Haley Hill, Michael Lupario, Mairead Poulin, John Waskiewicz, and
Elissa Wright known collectively as ÒThe Toy Squad,Ó were recently selected to advance
to the Sally Ride Science TOYchallengeª 2008 Nationals at the United States
Patent and Trademark Office, in Alexandria on May 17th . The team, led by Jan deUbl, is one of
hundreds of teams of students from across the country that are participating in
TOYchallenge, a fun-fueled toy- and game-design competition that gives kids the chance to step out of their classrooms and develop
their engineering and design skills by creating their dream toy.
For the competitionÕs
Preliminary Round, the teams, comprised of at least 50 percent girls, submitted
written descriptions and visual presentations of their original toy or game
concepts based on themed categories including Games for the Family, Get Out and
Play, and Toys that Teach. The submissions were judged on originality,
creativity, feasibility, design process description, team participation and
clarity of communication. 100
Preliminary Round finalists were invited to advance to the TOYchallenge
Nationals to be held at The United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 17th. At the Nationals, one grand prize
package will be awarded, and one team will also be named the category prize
winner in each theme category.
TOYchallenge (www.TOYchallenge.com) is designed to engage middle school-age students,
especially girls, in science and engineering and to inspire them to pursue
careers in those fields. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women
comprise only 13 percent of the engineering workforce. However, studies show
that, in elementary school, equal numbers of girls and boys are interested
in--and good at--math, science and technology. Unfortunately, beginning around
the sixth grade, more girls than boys drift away from these subjects. While
open to all fifth through eighth graders in the U.S., TOYchallenge focuses on
catching girlsÕ attention in these subjects in order to keep them in the
engineering Òpipeline.Ó
TOYchallenge is created and run by Sally Ride Science, in partnership
with United States Patent and Trademark Office. Northrop Grumman is the presenting sponsor. Southwest
Airlines is the official airline of TOYchallenge.
About Sally Ride Science
Sally Ride
Science is an innovative science content company dedicated to fueling girlsÕ
and boysÕ interests in science, math and technology. Dr. Sally Ride, best known
as AmericaÕs first woman in space, founded the company in 2001 to create
quality programs and products that educate, entertain, engage and inspire. Our
programs include Sally Ride Science Festivals, TOYchallenge, Educator Institutes,
summer camps, and after-school programs. Our publications include award-winning
science books, science career books, and innovative Classroom Sets to
supplement science instruction. Our publications and programs bring science to
life and show kids that science is creative, collaborative, fascinating and
fun. For more information go to www.SallyRideScience.com or call 1-800-561-5161.
Contact Information:
ÒThe Toy SquadÓ - Coach Jan
deUbl, White Brook Middle School, Easthampton, MA
Sally Ride Science: Meredith Manning – mmanning@sallyridescience.com