KANSAS CITY, MO--(Marketwired - Nov 6, 2015) - Judges surprised 20 student teams in the Kansas City metro area to reveal they were finalists in the third Burns & McDonnell Battle of the Brains competition. A record number 5,300 students representing 520 school teams entered the challenge, which is one of the nation's most robust STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) competitions. The students are vying for thousands of dollars in grant money and the ultimate prize of having their proposals transformed into the next million dollar exhibit at Science City.
"When we surprised the teachers and students with celebration kits and told them they were Battle of the Brains finalists, they went wild! They were cheering and crying and hugging each other. It was amazing!" says Julee Koncak, director of the Burns & McDonnell Foundation. "In just a matter of days, one of these teams will learn they will be chosen to work alongside our professionals at Burns & McDonnell to make their STEM exhibit idea come to life at one of the nation's most popular science centers."
From Nov. 7 to Nov. 14, the public is invited to review each of the finalists' exhibit submissions and vote for their favorite at www.botbkc.com. The public vote will count for 30 percent of the final selection.
"This will be the fourth student-inspired STEM exhibit at Science City, but the first one to ever be featured outside," says George Guastello, president and CEO at Union Station, who announced earlier this year that Union Station is undergoing a $7.5 million expansion that will feature a premier outdoor science center. "The winning exhibit from Battle of the Brains will be a key feature of the expansion project and may influence future design plans of the special space planned outside Science City."
At 10 a.m. on Nov. 18, the 20 finalist school teams, along with their families and friends, will gather for an awards-style event at Union Station to find out which team will receive the honor of having their proposed exhibit be part of Science City history. In addition, Burns & McDonnell will distribute $155,000 in grant money among the winning teams, with the first place elementary and secondary schools garnering $50,000 each.
Judges selected these 20 schools as finalists in the Burns & McDonnell Battle of the Brains competition:
| Title of Exhibit: | School District: | School Name: | ||
| Ants Enlarged: Learning from Ants | North Kansas City | Bell Prairie Elementary-SAGE Program | ||
| Camp STEM...Science, S'mores and More | Shawnee Mission | Rosehill Elementary | ||
| How it Works: Backyard Science | Blue Valley | Stilwell Elementary School | ||
| It's All in Your Head | Lee's Summit | Longview Farm Elementary | ||
| Let's Get Ready to Rumble | Blue Springs | Cordill Mason Elementary | ||
| Mission to Saturn | Olathe | Green Springs Elementary | ||
| Not-So-Simple Simple Machines Playground | Lee's Summit | Mason Elementary | ||
| Road Ready: The Science of Bridges & Byways | Bonner Springs | Bonner Springs Elementary, Delaware Ridge Elementary, Edwardsville Elementary | ||
| Survive! | Blue Valley | Valley Park Elementary | ||
| Uniquely Kansas City | Shawnee Mission | Highlands Elementary | ||
| A Bug's Eye View | Pleasant Hill | Pleasant Hill Middle School | ||
| Cultivating the City | Easton | Pleasant Ridge High School | ||
| Electri-City | Belton | Belton High School | ||
| Every Which Wave | Olathe | Olathe North High School | ||
| Know Your Enemy | Blue Valley | Oxford Middle School | ||
| Liftoff! KC | Gardner Edgerton | Gardner Edgerton High School | ||
| Living in a Material World | Olathe | Olathe Northwest High School | ||
| Nature's Fault | Lee's Summit | Summit Technology Academy | ||
| Newton's Playground | Pleasant Hill | Pleasant Hill Middle School | ||
| Simple Six | Drexel | Drexel High School |
About Burns & McDonnell
Burns & McDonnell is a company made up of more than 5,300 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the country and throughout the world. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee-owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned and is proud to be No. 15 on FORTUNE's 2015 List of 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information, visit burnsmcd.com
Contact Information:
Contact:
Kristi Widmar
Burns & McDonnell
551-208-5922
klwidmar@burnsmcd.com
Michael Tritt
Union Station
816-460-2278
mtritt@unionstation.org
