Last call for entries for the 2010 Weston Youth Innovation Award

TORONTO , Jan. 6 /CNW/ - The January 31st deadline for submissions for the 2010 Weston Youth Innovation Award is approaching quickly. The Ontario Science Centre is looking for Canadian youth who use science and technology to create solutions for real-world problems.

In 2008, the Ontario Science Centre established the Weston Youth Innovation Award to recognize Canadian students aged 14 to 18 who have shown initiative and leadership in addressing a current issue they are passionate about. The winner (either an individual or team) receives a $2,000 cash prize, and the opportunity to work with an Ontario Science Centre multimedia team to create a short animation showcasing their project. This video will be broadcast in the Centre's Weston Family Innovation Centre, and can be viewed online at www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/innovationaward/

Applicants are asked to profile how they have shown initiative and leadership to be Agents of Change in addressing a current issue, for example, energy conservation or climate change, and illustrate the impact of their efforts. Entries will be judged on demonstration of the characteristics of innovation: inspiration, creativity, collaboration, risk-taking and problem-solving.

Submissions will undergo a two-step judging process. A panel from the Ontario Science Centre will review entries in February. A shortlist will go to a second panel of external judges, with the winner to be announced at the end of March, 2010. The Award will be presented at a ceremony in April.

The Weston Youth Innovation Award was established to encourage and recognize young Canadian innovators. It is named in recognition of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation's $15 million lead gift to the Ontario Science Centre's Agents of Change initiative, and to honour the Foundation's support and commitment to education.

Detailed information about the Weston Youth Innovation Award can be found at www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/innovationaward/

About the Ontario Science Centre:

The Ontario Science Centre opened on September 26, 1969 , a global pioneer of the concept of an interactive science museum. Since then, well over 44 million visitors have passed through its doors. It is a model for over 2,000 science centres around the world, built since its inception.

The Ontario Science Centre uses science as the lens to inspire and actively engage people in new ways of seeing, understanding and thinking about themselves and the world around them. The Ontario Science Centre is an agency of the Government of Ontario. For more information, visit www.ontariosciencecentre.ca or call our box office at 416-696-1000.

For further information: or to arrange an interview please contact: Anna Relyea, Associate Director, Strategic Communications, Ontario Science Centre, [phone], [email protected]; Christine Crosbie, Media Relations Officer, Ontario Science Centre, [phone], [email protected]