Fifteen Public Schools Across the Country Named National Finalists in the $2 Million Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest

The Community Choice Winner, chosen by public online voting, will receive $138,000* in technology and cash to support STEM learning
Feb 26, 2015 9:05 AM ET

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., February 26, 2015 /3BL Media/ – Fifteen public schools from across the country – Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wyoming – have won $35,000* in technology as finalists in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest, a national competition to raise enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.  

These 15 teams were chosen from a pool of more than 3,100 applicants for their use of STEM skills to address an issue affecting their community. Topics ranged from ways to address water pollution to mosquito-borne illnesses to urban food deserts which they illustrated through a short video they submitted as one of 51 state winners.

“We are blown away by the level of care, creativity, and smarts these students have shown through their projects,” said Ann Woo, director of Corporate Citizenship for Samsung Electronics North America. “We congratulate these students and their teachers on what they’ve achieved so far and look forward to meeting them and hearing their passion for STEM and what it can do for the world.”

As national finalists, the teams will present their projects to a live panel of judges on March 18 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Five national grand prize winners will then be selected by a panel of judges, Samsung employees and the public, through online voting which is open 12:01 a.m. EST, March 2, 2015 through 11:59 p.m. EST, March 25, 2015 at Samsung.com/solve.

Additionally, three special awards will be given to contestants in the 51 state winner pool for their pioneering use of math, environmental innovation or civic engagement by DIRECTV, the National Environmental Education Foundation and Digital Promise, respectively. During the competition, approximately $2 million* of prizes will be presented by Samsung, Adobe, DIRECTV, Fortune, PBS TeacherLine, the National Environmental Education Foundation and Digital Promise. In addition to technology, each teacher who entered the contest received a professional development class from PBS TeacherLine.

The Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest was created in 2010 to encourage innovation while addressing the technology gap in classrooms across the country. The competition is a Samsung Solve for Tomorrow initiative which aims to engage students nationwide in active, hands-on STEM learning. In support of that mission, lesson plans created by teachers who were past participants of the Solve for Tomorrow Contest are now available to educators everywhere at samsung.com/solve. There plans offer creative and engaging ways to help students learn valuable STEM skills while applying them to address real-world issues in communities across the United States.

The 15 national finalists are:

School

City, State

Video Submission

Lawrence County High School

Mouton, AL

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaoCaJyKnPI

Caddo Hills High School

Norman, AR

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6zvBxfkU8E

Clarendon School

Phoenix, AZ

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnd3X7ozXp4

Downtown College Prep

San Jose, CA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rawGZAgFT_I

Imagine Hope Community Charter School

Washington, DC

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nK7tGCM6go

Caesar Rodney High School

Camden, DE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NppRk2La1nI

James Campbell High School

Ewa Beach, HI

www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0QcZhuJ2oY

Frankie Woods McCullough Academy

Gary, IN

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBwPcMKYOO0

Nicholson Elementary

Picayune, MS

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm0wzJNiC1I

Bow High School

Bow, NH

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjtX7Nsnz1c

Galena High School

Reno, NV

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLE9DFjEnrE

Cedar Cliff Middle School

Cedarville, OH

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isxa2zI744Y

Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy

Erie, PA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXBUlFYMPhc

Hudson's Bay High School

Vancouver, WA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW-p-VTg2MU

Meeteetse Schools

Meeteetse, WY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y93HP6riHCI

To learn more about the competition, please visit: http://www.samsung.com/solve

*Estimated Retail Value

About Samsung Electronics North America
Samsung Electronics North America (NAHQ), based in Ridgefield Park, NJ, is an arm of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. The company markets a broad range of award-winning consumer electronics, information systems, and home appliance products, as well as oversees all of Samsung’s North American brand management including Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. As a result of its commitment to innovation and unique design, Samsung is one of the most decorated brands in the electronics industry. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com. You can also Fan Samsung on www.facebook.com/SamsungUSA or follow Samsung via Twitter @SamsungTweets.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies, redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical equipment, network systems and semiconductors. We are also leading in the Internet of Things space through, among others, our Digital Health and Smart Home initiatives. We employ 307,000 people across 84 countries. To discover more, please visit our official website at www.samsung.com.

CONTACT:
Theresa Cha
Samsung Electronics North America
201-229-4032
tcha@sea.samsung.com

Lindsay Hyman
Allison+Partners
202-591-1127
SamsungSFT@allisonpr.com