EXPLR ANNOUNCES TOP STUDENT INNOVATORS NAMED NATIONAL STEM CHAMPIONS

January 3, 2025

EXPLR announces the names of 106 students whose outstanding performance in the National STEM Festival Challenge has earned them the title of National STEM Champion. These students will be recognized at the 2025 National STEM Festival in Washington, D.C., presented by EXPLR with support from Dakota State University’s Governors Cyber Academy.

Each student and a guardian will receive an expense-paid trip, including travel and lodging, to attend the Festival and showcase their projects from March 19-22, 2025. In addition, each National STEM Champion will receive free access to EXPLR’s educational streaming video and curriculum platform for the teacher of their choice.

The National STEM Festival invited students in grades 7-12 from across the U.S. and its territories to conceive and submit STEM innovations, inventions, and research across six categories: Aerospace Innovation, Environmental Stewardship, Future Food, Health and Medicine, Powering the Planet, and Tech for Good. A full list of National STEM Champions can be found here.

During the National STEM Festival, students will showcase their projects to top government and corporate leaders, as well as network with other exceptional students from around the country.

“Congratulations to all the students selected as National STEM Champions! EXPLR created the National STEM Festival to spotlight the next generation of innovators—students who are bold thinkers, dynamic leaders, and creators with the power to make a real impact. I’m incredibly excited to welcome our STEM Champions to the Festival this spring, where their ideas will inspire us all,” said Jenny Buccos, Founder & CEO of EXPLR and Co-Director of the National STEM Festival.

In support of these incredibly talented students is Dakota State University’s Governors Cyber Academy, a sponsor of the national STEM Festival, supporting the organization's mission to guide the brightest minds toward careers in STEM and to take an active stand in tackling the world’s most pressing challenges.

“Dakota State University’s Governors Cyber Academy is thrilled to be a part of empowering young STEM Champions,” said Dr. Fenecia Homan, dean of the Governors Cyber Academy. “We look forward to the groundbreaking innovations as a part of the STEM festival and beyond by the three finalists from South Dakota.”  

ABOUT EXPLR

EXPLR’s mission is to help kids thrive in school and life by providing real-world, rigorous, and relevant educational resources. EXPLR is a streaming video and curriculum service for grade 5-12 students, teachers, and families that helps bridge critical gaps in K-12 education. It was co-founded by leading education and entertainment figures Jenny Buccos (founder of ProjectExplorer) and Kari Byron (former Discovery Channel Mythbuster). Since launching in 2021, EXPLR has been used in over 500 schools across 23 US states.

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