Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize – Primary and Secondary School

The 2024 University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize will be awarded for a short (2-minute) film that communicates a scientific concept in an accessible and engaging way.

The theme for 2024 is ‘Energy.’

Communicating scientific ideas and discoveries to the world is a tricky task. Each year, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki (Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney) and Adam Spencer (Mathematics and Science Ambassador) enlighten thousands of Australians with their knowledge and communication of science.

This film competition encourages school students to communicate a scientific concept in a way that is accessible and entertaining to the public while painlessly increasing their science knowledge or, as Dr Karl and Adam like to say, "Learn something without even noticing". It is intended to support budding young scientists across the nation, who will be our future leaders in research, discovery and communication.

Judges will assess each entry and make their selection based on the following five questions:

Science Communication

• Did the film present accurate science and use appropriate language? (25%)
• Did the film use relevant examples, demonstrations and/or visuals? (25%)
• Did the film follow a clear and logical sequence, that was not rushed? (25%)

Entertainment

• Did the film show that the entrant/s is passionate about their chosen topic? (15%)
• Did the film include creative approaches? (10%)

Other considerations

• Sound and image quality need to be clear enough for judges to assess your entry.
• The Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize is about scientific content and communication of that content, not production values and investment.
• Judges will take into consideration the school year and age of the participants involved in each entry.

As part of the online entry form, entrants must also provide a brief statement on:

• the nature and extent of any assistance they receive from teachers, parents/guardians etc. (200 words maximum)
• what their film is about and how it links to the 2024 theme of ‘Energy’ (200 words maximum)
• where they found the scientific information included in the short film. This does not need to be a formal bibliography but should be a list of what sources the entrants used e.g., books, documentaries, conversations with science teacher/s, scientific publications, YouTube videos etc. (200 words maximum)

Theme

Films must be based on the 2024 theme, ’Energy’.

Length

2-minutes in duration and no longer.

Film content

• Films must focus on a scientific concept, discovery, invention or your own scientific hypothesis – anything goes, but keep the science in the story, and keep the science real!
• Films may be in any language or have no dialogue at all. Non-English audio (or important on-screen text) must have English subtitles.
• Films must not contain graphic violence, coarse language, nudity or any other content not suitable for a general audience.
  
  

Cost

Entry is free.

Who can enter?

• School students: primary and secondary school students studying at schools in Australia or its territories (as defined by the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes Terms and Conditions). Students who are educated at home in accordance with the relevant state or territory legislation are also eligible to enter.
• Individuals or teams: entries may be submitted by an individual student or a team of no more than six students. Entries comprising more than six students are ineligible. If an entry was created by more than one person, it should be entered in the appropriate category for the oldest member of the group.
• One entry per student: an individual can enter once in any year, whether individually or in a group.
  
  

Submission format

Films should be submitted in .mp4 format. A display resolution of 1280 x 720 will be accepted but 1920 x 1080 is preferred (aspect ratio of 16:9).

Entry deadline

All entries must be submitted online by the Entry Deadline. If you experience issues in uploading your entry or have concerns about what has been uploaded, you must contact the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes via phone (02) 9320 6230 or email eureka@australian.museum before the Entry Deadline. The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes administrators cannot modify or add to an entry after the Entry Deadline.

Student led

Films must be independently financed, written and produced primarily by the individual entrant/s, and they must make all key decisions relating to the submitted film. Entrants are required to indicate on the entry form the nature and extent of any assistance they receive from teachers, parents/guardians, etc.

Students' own content

Entrants must ensure that all content in their film is their own. It is the sole responsibility of the entrant to secure permission from any third party owners of content included in their film, including footage, music and images. The AM takes no responsibility for any failure by an entrant to obtain the necessary permissions. Films found to contain unauthorised content will be disqualified. For more information on copyright, click here.

Parent/guardian consent

Entrants aged under 18 years of age may only enter the University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize with the consent of a parent/guardian. The parent/guardian of the entrant must read and consent to be bound to these Terms & Conditions on behalf of the entrant.

AM licence to use

By submitting your entry, you give the AM a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable licence to use and reproduce your entry in whole or in part for the purposes of the Eureka Prizes or the purposes of the AM more generally.

General terms and conditions of entry

In addition to the prize specific conditions of entry all entrants need to comply with the General Terms and Conditions of Entry.

Primary school

• First place: $2,000
• Runner up: $1,000
• Runner up: $1,000

Secondary school

• First place: $3,000
• Runner up: $1,500
• Runner up: $1,500

Prize money is divided equally between the winning student/s and their school, with the school receiving 50% of the prize money.

Representatives from the finalist teams will win a trip to Sydney for the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes Award Ceremony.

Each finalist will also be awarded a share in vouchers from Abbey's Bookshop. For team entries, book vouchers are shared equally among students.

Additional resources, including a list of frequently asked questions, are available here.

Download a sample online entry form:

• Primary school students
• Secondary school students

Please email eureka@australian.museum with any questions.

Entries to the 2024 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes closed at 7pm AEST on Friday 12 April.