PBS’ Trash to Treasure Competition Launches Nationwide on April 5th

According to Design Squad executive producer Marisa Wolsky, “This is an opportunity for kids to give a second life to an object they or their household would have otherwise discarded. We expect that this year’s entries will run the gamut, from trying to fill a pressing societal need to offering something whimsical and fun.”

The rules are simple. The invention should fit within one of the three categories: move things or people (Mobility), protect the environment (Environmental), or be used for indoor or outdoor play (Play). The invention also needs to be made of at least two repurposed materials (such as fabric, paper, plastic, small electronics, wheels, clamps, springs, batteries, hardware, wood, bike parts, string, rubber bands, cardboard, kitchen gadgets, etc.) Kids will be given online tools to sketch out their ideas or upload a photo. (Kids don’t need to actually build their invention in order to enter.)

Last year’s winner, Max Wallack, 13, inventor of the “Home Dome”–a temporary shelter for homeless people and disaster victims —gives this advice to this year’s entrants, “Identify a problem and then try to come up with a solution to it. Be prepared to make several attempts at designing before one design jumps out as the right one.”

Three winners will be selected from this year’s entrants to come to Boston to work side-by-side with the team at the award-winning global innovation design consultancy Continuum and see their idea come to life. At Continuum, their winning designs will be prototyped and the process will be chronicled by the team behind Design Squad. Their stories will be shared with a national audience on an upcoming episode of the Design Squad series and website PBSKIDSGO.org/designsquad. Twenty-five finalists will have their ideas showcased on the series website. The nationwide contest is open for ages 5-19 and will launch online on April 5.  Entries will be accepted through September 5, 2010 at PBSKIDSGO.org/designsquad/PBSKIDSGO.org/designsquad/contest.

For a video about last year’s winner and his Home Dome invention check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAaMQuEFl8

Design Squad Online–PBSKIDSGO.org/designsquad
The Design Squad website gets kids into the action with videos, games, and a space to get creative and offers full-length streams of Design Squad episodes in a full-screen video player. The site also features an online gallery space that allows visitors to brainstorm and sketch their own design ideas, share their designs, and see what others are up to. And the site’s popular “DESIGNit, BUILDit, FIDGit” game continues to challenge players to think fast and solve puzzles.

About Design Squad
Design Squad is a reality competition show aimed at kids and people of all ages who like reality or how-to television. The program was launched in 2007 by the producers behind ZOOM and FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, with the goal of getting viewers excited about engineering and the design process. And it worked. After researching the impact of the TV series, website, and educator’s guide, an independent evaluator found a significant jump in young people’s learning and a uniformly positive, enthusiastic response from viewers, educators, and kids.