AUBURN, NY—April 30, 2004—Eight national finalist teams were just announced as part of the Christopher Columbus Awards, a nationwide program that encourages 'everyday' middle-school students to work in teams to promote positive community change.

The program attracts 'everyday' students who may not typically enter a science competition. More than half of the entrants are girls, and more than a fourth are from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, statistics that are higher than those of most science competitions.

"The teamwork aspect and community focus draw upon the interests and strengths of a broader range of students to enter," said Robert J. Glovitz, chairman of the board of trustees of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, the competition sponsor.

Each member of two Gold Medal winning teams will receive a $2,000 U.S. Savings Bond and one team will receive the $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant as seed money to help bring its idea to life in the community. The Grant winning team will also receive support from the Christopher Columbus Awards staff and continued guidance from their coach and community leaders as they work on their project over the next year.

Past grant winners have included a group of Native American girls who built a study hall out of straw on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, and a group of students from Pennsylvania who developed a motion sensing and video device for school buses to deter motorists from trying to pass illegally.

The Christopher Columbus Awards challenge teams of middle-school students to explore and discover opportunities for positive change in their communities using science and technology. The program is now in its eighth year and has attracted more than 14,000 students from diverse backgrounds all across the U.S. The program is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation with support from the National Science Foundation and is endorsed by the National Middle School Association.

The national panel of judges looks for bright ideas, solid research and testing, and teamwork when making their decisions. Judges have included nationally prominent scientists, journalists, teachers and community leaders who have worked with children.

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is an independent Federal government agency created by Congress in 1992 to encourage and support research, study and labor designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind. The Foundation has established Frontiers of Discovery—Work in Progress and Discover the Future programs that recognize "cutting edge" innovation, innovative ideas of Americaís youth, and honor teachers. These programs include the $50,000 Frank Annunzio Award, the Christopher Columbus Awards, the National Gallery for Americaís Young Inventors and the $10,000 Freida J. Riley Teacher Award.