Student Ideas for a Better America™ is an ongoing national student invention competition for PreK-12 + College! Through this challenge, the National Museum of Education, Inc. seeks to encourage the learning, insight, creativity, and workmanship of America’s students by recognizing and rewarding their accomplishments. Monetary prizes are awarded each month and there is no deadline.

With grateful and loving honor, we announce the new "W.I.S.E. Award" in the Student Ideas for a Better America™ program:   "Frances O. Williamson Inventions in Science Education".

For over 25 years, Frances O. Williamson was a science teacher and a pillar of the educational community. Her skilled, passionate and creative teaching introduced landmark projects to the science curriculum. Providing opportunities for students to race solar cars, launch rocket ships, and design maglev trains, Frances Williamson prioritized hands-on learning, interdisciplinary cooperation, and student creativity.
 
One ninth-grade class dedicated their yearbook to Mrs. Williamson: “She is not only a teacher, but also an advisor, friend and role model to all of us.  She is imaginative and enthusiastic in and out of the classroom.  She reminds us of the one and only Miss Frizzle from ‘The Magic School Bus’ leading into each [new]…adventure.”
 
The Student Ideas for a Better America™ award honors students who have embraced opportunities for inquiry, investigation and imagination that Mrs. Williamson fostered in generations of students.