'No Boundaries' Student Projects Competition by NASA and USA Today

No Boundaries is a national competition sponsored by USA Today and NASA. It encourages high school students to learn and explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. Students explore STEM careers through stimulating project-based learning and team competition. No Boundaries targets students in grades 7-12 and is designed as a team-centered cooperative learning project. No Boundaries is cross-curricular and requires minimal teacher preparation. It aligns to national standards and includes assessment rubrics.

Students may enter individually, or as a group of up to four. Entrants create a project about a career in STEM, which may vary greatly in format. In 2008, the first place group of four made a Power-Point presentation called "It's Electric", about electrical engineering.

In 2009, the contest was won by four girls who created a website about astrobiology. The group who won the second place prize in 2009 made a "cookbook" with recipes for how to become a food scientist for NASA; third place that year created a simple home-made yarn-bound storybook. First place winners receive $2000 dollars to split between members of a group, and a trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Students who submit their final No Boundaries career presentation projects to the 2011 National No Boundaries Competition are eligible to win up to $2000 in cash awards for themselves and $500 for their teacher or sponsor. They will receive VIP passes to visit a NASA facility.

Previously, Back in 2009 a student team from Pakistan was able to win first prize in Annual International Space Settlement Design Competition, sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The students designed a space city that will be home for over 10,000 people, demonstrating creativity, technical competence, management skills, and environmental knowledge, teamwork, and presentation techniques to conquer the problems inherent in designing a space.