Discovery Education and 3M Announce National Finalists In Young Scientist Challenge

SILVER SPRING, Md. and ST. PAUL, Minn., June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Discovery Education and 3M announced today the top 10 finalists in the 14th annual Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge (http://www.youngscientistchallenge.com), the nation's premier science competition for students in grades 5-8. Students nationwide were asked to create a short video describing a new innovative solution that would impact an everyday problem, and these budding young scientists rose to the top of their peers due to the scientific ingenuity and inventive thinking demonstrated in their entry videos.

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Each finalist will have an exclusive opportunity to work directly with a 3M Scientist during a summer mentorship program where the finalist will be challenged to create an innovation that solves a problem he/she has identified in everyday life. Mentors will provide guidance as the finalist develops their ideas from a concept into an actual prototype, which they will present at the competition's final event at the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minn. Throughout the program, each student will have access to resources and support provided by 3M and Discovery Education.

Each finalist will receive $1,000 and be awarded a trip to 3M Headquarters to participate in the final event on Oct. 15-16. During the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge final event, students will demonstrate their scientific acumen, creativity and communication skills in a series of three different challenges, including a presentation of their completed innovation. Each challenge will be scored independently by a panel of judges. The winner will receive $25,000, a trip from Discovery Student Adventures and the title of "America's Top Young Scientist."

Discovery Education and 3M are proud to announce the following 10 finalists (in alphabetical order)*:

• Aidan Dwyer, Northport, N.Y., Northport Middle School
• Naren Gaurev, Beaverton, Ore., Meadow Park Summa Middle School
• Brandon Gong, Garden City, N.Y., Garden City Middle School
• Carolyn Jons, Eden Prairie, Minn., Central Middle School
• Deepika Kurup, Nashua, N.H., Fairgrounds Middle School
• Chase Lewis, Chapel Hill, N.C., Homeschool
• Gabriel Mesa, Canton, Conn., Canton Intermediate School
• Anin Sayana, Cupertino, Calif., Challenger School
• Patrick Shea, Jacksonville, Ill., Our Saviour School
• Anishaa Sivakumar, Murrysville, Pa., Franklin Regional Middle School

* Schools listed are from time of competition entry (January – April 2012).

Ian Hardgrove, President, 3M Foundation, added, "Commitment to foster interest and development in the innovators of our future is something we take very seriously at 3M, and our partnership with Discovery Education helps demonstrate just how exciting the journey of learning can be for students.  It will be a sincere honor to host these bright young minds at the 3M Innovation Center in October."

"This year's Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge finalists embody the innovative spirit that will drive them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, and thrive in a competitive global workforce," said Bill Goodwyn, CEO, Discovery Education. "This unique challenge allows our country's next generation of leaders to interact and build relationships with real-world scientists to truly inspire curiosity and see STEM as a potential career path."

The Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge targets students in the years when research indicates their interest in science begins to wane and encourages them to explore scientific concepts and creatively communicate their findings. In January, students nationwide were asked to create a short video describing a new innovation or solution that could solve or impact an everyday problem related to the way we move, keep ourselves healthy or make a difference. In addition to the 10 finalists, 42 students were selected as state merit winners in this year's competition and will each receive a 3M Innovation Prize Package.

For more information on the challenge, including photos and bios of the 10 finalists and a list of the state merit winners, go to www.youngscientistchallenge.com.

About Discovery Education

Discovery Education transforms classrooms, empowers teachers and captivates students by providing high quality, dynamic, digital content for grades K-12 and community colleges. Powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world, Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital media, professional development, assessment tools and a passionate educator network to support districts in accelerating student achievement. Discovery Education services like Discovery Education streaming, Discovery Education Techbook and Discovery Education Higher Ed, are in more than half of all US schools and 35 countries around the world.  Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.

About 3M

3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 84,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.

SOURCE Discovery Education