LOS ANGELES, Jan. 28, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Archer School for Girls launched a challenge with the XPRIZE Foundation at a school assembly this morning. Along with Archer's Head of School, Elizabeth English, and Middle School Director Karen Pavliscak, XPRIZE Senior Director of Youth Engagement Alan Zack was in attendance to introduce the Middle School students to the Archer XPRIZE Challenge, a competition to design innovative solutions around food sustainability issues.
The leading nonprofit that creates and manages large-scale incentivized prize competitions, XPRIZE will seek participation from Archer students in grades six through eight. Students who accept the challenge will use Archer's exploratory X-Block period to investigate issues surrounding growing food, getting it to the table, and managing food waste.
The teams will be judged on use of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) skills, creativity and feasibility. The winning team will participate in a once-in-a-lifetime experience with Mary Sue Milliken, co-Chef/Owner of the Border Grill restaurants, in which the students will get a hands-on lesson about the lifecycle of food, from buying the food at a nearby farmer's market to preparing the locally-sourced meal at her restaurant. In addition, all the top teams will get a VIP tour of the California Science Center.
"This is the kind of real world application of our students' skills and knowledge that will stay with them forever," said English. "This Challenge is a natural for Archer girls who care passionately about the environment and the problems human beings face due to pollution, climate change, and the world's overpopulation. Because a key piece of our mission is to educate and empower future female leaders, this is an invaluable opportunity for our girls to discover the power of their creativity and problem solving skills – where imagination, science, and engineering intersect."
Of the opportunity ahead, Pavliscak added, "Like XPRIZE, Archer values the 'audacious, but achievable,' and we are excited through this partnership to see how Archer students tackle the challenge ahead."
Participants will be able to consult with and hear from food sustainability experts after presenting their solutions in February. On April 26, Archer and XPRIZE will host a celebration to recognize the Archer XPRIZE Challenge finalists and screen their selection videos.
"We are both excited and honored to partner with The Archer School for Girls on this challenge to give the students a platform to express their creative ideas to one of the biggest problems facing our planet," said Zack. "At XPRIZE, we believe innovative solutions to problems can come from anyone at any age and one of these students just might come up with a solution that could change the world."
About the Archer School for Girls
Celebrating its 20th year, The Archer School for Girls is an independent school that provides a 21st-century college preparatory program for students in grades 6 through 12 in an environment that explores and refines the ways girls learn best. The cultivation of a strong sense of individuality, personal identity, independence, a sense of global engagement, and an array of leadership opportunities defines each student's experience. For more information, please visit our website at www.archer.org.
About XPRIZE
Founded in 1995, XPRIZE is the leading organization solving the world's Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prizes in five areas: Learning; Exploration; Energy & Environment; Global Development; and Life Sciences. Active prizes include the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, the $15M Global Learning XPRIZE, the $10M Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, the $7 million Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, and the $7 million Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE. For more information, visit www.xprize.org.
Byline 1: Archer students express excitement about the upcoming Archer XPRIZE Challenge and related prizes.
Byline 2: The Archer XPRIZE Challenge team, including XPRIZE Senior Director of Youth Engagement Alan Zack (fourth from the left), announced the challenge to Archer's Middle School during an assembly.
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