Tips for Contestants
- Stick to the topic.
Make sure that your objective is relevant to the “Power Your Future” alternative-energy theme and directly answers one of the challenges. - Focus.
Tempting though it may be to try to solve many problems at once, keep in mind that you only have a few months to work and that thoroughness is important. Ask your advisor to help you define a reasonable scope for your project. - Be clear.
State your objective as clearly as you can, then ask others who are unfamiliar with your project (including adults) what they think it means. If they don’t understand it or think it means something different from what you had intended, consider rephrasing your objective. - Start with research.
Find out what’s already been done to meet your objective and what remains to be done. Become an expert in your area. What are the problems with or limitations of existing technologies, designs, methods, and/or policies? Can you develop ideas to address any of those issues? - Make a plan…together.
Sit down together as a team and figure out what steps you need to take to achieve your solution. Map them out and work together to proceed through them methodically. If you discover that your plan isn’t yielding the desired results, don’t be afraid to change direction. But before you make a switch, talk with your teammates and consider thoroughly how your revised plan may bring you closer to your objective. - Learn from your mistakes.
Trial and error is the cornerstone of research. Many of the most important discoveries happen when things don’t go as planned. If your study isn’t turning out like you thought, try to find out why. You may find valuable insights in the answer. Even if you are getting the results you want, it’s important that you conduct multiple trials, because you may get a different result or learn something new the second or third time around. - Break new ground.
Instead of recreating existing ideas, designs, or technologies, put your own twist on them. Or, develop new ideas altogether. - Be thorough.
Begin by reading in depth about your topic. You can start by reviewing popular literature and scanning Web sites, but don’t stop there; if scientific literature would be informative as well, use it. Consider your topic from different perspectives. Ask for input from experts: teachers, parents, or Imagine Tomorrow expert volunteers. Support your conclusions solidly with data. Name your sources. - Do a reality check.
Think of your project like a product, service, or plan that you’re creating for another party: a family, business, or government agency, for example. Ask yourselves three important questions:- How would your innovation or ideas be useful to that party?
- Would it be feasible to implement your plan or put your innovation into practice? (If not, what steps would be needed to make it so?)
- Would others find it desirable to use your plan or innovation? (Consider issues like cost, societal and individual expectations, and environmental factors—noise, odor, aesthetics, safety hazards, etc.—that might limit desirability.)
- The most successful projects will be useful, feasible, and desirable.
- How would your innovation or ideas be useful to that party?
- Identify what still needs to be done.
Even the greatest of ideas has limitations. For example, your idea may face policy hurdles, it may require a shift in the consumer mindset, or it may need ways to trim costs. It’s important that you be able to identify your project’s limitations and tell the judges what still needs to be done. - Fine-tune your presentation.
Remember, you’ll have just ten minutes to communicate your objective, results, and conclusions to the judges. Take the time to create a clear, well-organized presentation that showcases your solid research and creativity. - Include the four key steps.
- Background. Summarize the problem under investigation or the hypothesis you will explore.
- Methods. Identify the methods or protocols you use to accomplish your research or design.
- Results. Provide an overview of the key points of your study. Your presentation should have enough depth to allow judges to evaluate the content.
- Conclusions. Summarize your findings.
- Background. Summarize the problem under investigation or the hypothesis you will explore.
Tell your students about Imagine Tomorrow
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Your ideas make a difference.
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The need for significant new energy technology.
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