Semifinalists of the 2014 Broadcom MASTERS will be announced on Wednesday, September 3. The 300 semifinalists will be selected from a record number of applications this year—2,054 students!
Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars) is a national competition for 6th- 8th grade students designed to inspire and encourage the nation’s young scientists, engineers and innovators. To be eligible to apply, students had to finish in the top 10% of projects at their SSP-affiliated local science fair. Below, we’ve pulled together some other interesting facts about this year’s applicants and congratulate them on their hard work and success so far.
More than half of the applicants:
• Play a musical instrument or sing in a choir
• Participate in sports
Popular volunteer locations include churches, animal shelters, food banks, and libraries. In addition, many students volunteered as tutors, on charity walks/runs, and cleaning up the environment.
Many entrants also participate in clubs, such as:
• Science Club: 416 entrants
• Robotics: 331 entrants
• Computer Club: 198 entrants
• Boy Scouts: 190 entrants
• Girls Scouts: 126 entrants
• 4H: 125 entrants
Other popular activities for the 2014 applicants include:
• National Junior Honor Society
• Future Problem Solvers
• Math Counts
• History Bowl
• Battle of the Books
• Destination Imagination
• Model UN
• Geography Bee
• Spelling Bee
• Student Government
• Chess Club
• Language Club/Class (assorted languages)
• Theatre/Drama Club
• Academic Team/Bowl
• Dance (Irish, Classic Indian, Jazz, Pointe, etc.)
• Safety Patrol
In addition, many of our entrants had interesting hobbies. These include magic, birdwatching, scuba diving, raising goats, computer programming, rocketry, beekeeping, and many more.
Broadcom and Society for Science & the Public encourage all students to participate in hands-on research and science fairs. Stay tuned for more information about the semifinalists and finalists coming in September!