A terrific idea, the HP and Scholastic Create-a-Calculator Contest asks K-12 kids to design a better calculator.
Students may already be familiar with the useful and timesaving tasks that calculators can perform. Now, you and your teachers can challenge them to stretch their engineering, math, and design skills to invent the calculator of their dreams! There's no limit: Ideas can range from practical to fantastic, artistic to scientific. Entries may focus on a calculator's cosmetics, design, functionality, or a mixture of all three. Younger kids, for example, may wish to develop the shape, dimensions, colors, or the overall look and feel of a calculator. Older students and those with advanced math skills may wish to gear their entries more toward functionality: technical features, performance factors, or scientific and graphing abilities. They may even want to invent a new application or function key to enhance performance.