On Wednesday night, $100,000 in funding was awarded across 14 new innovations, all of which were conceptualized and developed by Boston teenagers. The event was the final presentations and award ceremony of the Cloud Foundation’s ArtScience Prize.
Founded by David Edwards, who you may remember as the inventor of Le Whif, The Cloud Foundation provides Boston public school students with a voluntary after school program that not only lets them conceptualize and design their own inventions, but grants them a chance to see these inventions become a reality. A main goal, well stated by Edwards, is to “start youth on the path to scientific research, creative thinking and problem solving.”
The program encourages innovation among Boston teens by challenging them not only to dream up concepts but also to plan production, design prototypes, and articulate their mission. At the awards ceremony at Cloud Place on Boylston St., I saw Boston teens stand up in front of the crowd and announce their projects with pride and excitement after months of diligent work.
Mayor Thomas Menino was there to celebrate the accomplishments of the teen innovators, who deemed the program a powerful model for promoting innovation, and offered some inspiring words to the students. Also in attendance was Boston Public Schools Superintendant, Dr. Carol Johnson, who praised the students and the Cloud Foundation for promoting teamwork and creative problem solving in Boston public schools.
Student projects were strikingly creative, with ideas including a virtual reality music community, neurologically controlled video games, and a cafe that displays patron’s varying brainwaves as they eat.
Prizes were awarded in three categories, the first set of groups awarded $1,000 each, the second $8,000 each, and to the winning group, $50,000 and a trip to Paris to further develop their idea.
The winning project, Coachmaster, was a design for a wearable product that would allow the user to learn by absorbing information during sleep.
Congratulations to all of the participants that were honored on Wednesday and also to Edwards and the Cloud Foundation for promoting innovation and providing a space for the future leaders of the Boston tech community. If you would like to get involved with the ArtScience program, you can find more information on the ArtScience 100k website.
