NPR's Big Idea video contest ends August 12, 2012

Are your kids crying “bored” this summer or do you need a way to challenge your upcoming class of students? NPR has a video contest to submit “big ideas,” which could be a more effective way of delivering mail or recycling waste. It could be anything at all. Enter your big idea in NPR's "What's Your Big Idea?" video contest from July 9 to Aug. 12, 2012, and you could win the chance to get advice on making your big idea a reality from a big name in science and technology. And even if you don't win that grand prize, NPR will showcase your video on NPR's YouTube channel and on Facebook.

The video contest for people ages 13 to 25. You can make the video by yourself, or as a team of up to three people. It doesn't have to be fancy. But it does have to be no more than 2 minutes long or less, and follow the official rules.

Entering is simple: First, upload your video to YouTube. Then, fill out the registration form online. Then you wait, but not long. The winners will be announced on August 27.

If you’re looking for some inspiration, tune in to (or set your recording device for) Frontline at 9PM on July 17th on GPB. In the episode “Fast Times at West Philly High” students and teachers from West Philadelphia High School, a public high school serving one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in Philadelphia, defy expectations as they design and build two super hybrid cars for international competition and compete for the chance to be part of a technological revolution. In summer 2010, the high school's EVX Team raced against mega-sized auto manufacturers, multimillion-dollar start-ups and university teams from around the world in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE competition. The challenge: build an affordable, 100 miles-per-gallon car. The prize: $10 million dollars.

This Frontline episode will also explore the creative and intellectual potential of middle schoolers as well as their vulnerability at what is arguably a crucial point in their educational careers and how that vulnerability effects their high school graduation rates.

The NPR BIG Idea contest is part of Joe's Big Idea, an NPR experiment exploring how ideas become innovations and inventions.

All entries have to be in by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 12.