2. Champion Participation CommitmentNational STEM Champion is an in-person participation role. If you are selected as a 2027 National STEM Champion, you must attend the National STEM Festival in person and substantially participate in the required Champion program. We ask you to make this commitment now because some Champions may learn of their selection through a live, recorded or media surprise.
Required in-person Festival · U.S. Edition · Washington, DC · October 19–24, 2027
That’s okay. You will remain recognized as a 2027 National STEM Festival Finalist, but you will no longer be considered for National STEM Champion selection.
Finalist Champion Commitment I understand that in-person attendance and substantial participation in required Festival programming are conditions of National STEM Champion status.
You must confirm this to continue.
If I am selected, I accept National STEM Champion status in advance subject to the participation requirements described in this agreement and the Official Rules & Terms.
You must confirm this to continue.
I understand that, if selected, I may learn of my National STEM Champion selection through a live, recorded, school, community, press, broadcast, social media or other public announcement or surprise reveal.
You must confirm this to continue.
I understand that because I am accepting the Champion participation requirements now, EXPLR does not need to obtain a second acceptance from me before publicly announcing my selection.
You must confirm this to continue.
I understand that if I later become unable to attend the Festival in person, I must notify EXPLR as soon as possible. I may remain a Finalist, but I cannot retain National STEM Champion status, and EXPLR may offer the Champion place to another qualifying Finalist.
You must confirm this to continue.
4. Your Finalist ProfileThese materials help EXPLR prepare accurate Festival, press and public-facing information if you are selected as a National STEM Champion. They are not automatically published simply because you are a Finalist. EXPLR may make reasonable editorial changes to submitted biographies, quotes, project titles and project descriptions for length, grammar, clarity, accessibility or general-audience communications, while preserving their meaning.
Approved Photos Please upload at least one clear, recent photograph of yourself. You may upload up to two photos. Two photos are encouraged because they give the Festival more flexibility for websites, press, social media and event materials.
Avoid photographs containing other identifiable people unless you have appropriate authority or permission to provide the photograph for the uses described in this agreement. Do not include identifiable patient/research-participant or other sensitive personal information.
Short Biography * Tell us a little about yourself. You might include your interests, what you enjoy about STEM, what motivates you or what you hope to explore next. EXPLR may lightly edit, shorten or format the biography for grammar, length, clarity and consistency while preserving meaning. 0 / 100 words Please answer this question (max 100 words).
5. Media PrepThese short responses help EXPLR accurately describe your project and prepare for possible Festival, press and media opportunities if you become a National STEM Champion. They are not automatically published simply because you are a Finalist. EXPLR may edit or excerpt these responses for grammar, length and clarity in Festival-related communications, provided the edited version does not materially change what you said.
What problem does your project address, and why does it matter to you? * Write naturally — we are looking for your voice, not a formal essay. 0 / 75 words Please answer this question (max 75 words).
What inspired you to start working on this project? * Write naturally. 0 / 75 words Please answer this question (max 75 words).
What would you most like people who experience your project at the National STEM Festival to understand, question or do next? * Write naturally. 0 / 75 words Please answer this question (max 75 words).
6. If You Are Selected as a National STEM ChampionNational STEM Champion is a public-facing, in-person role. By selecting Yes to the Champion Participation Commitment and signing this agreement, you conditionally accept National STEM Champion status in advance. The media terms below take effect if EXPLR officially selects you as a Champion.
If you are selected as a National STEM Champion, you authorize EXPLR to use the following materials in connection with the National STEM Festival and related EXPLR educational programming:
Champion name; preferred name; Competition Region; image and likeness; voice; the project title as submitted or reasonably edited for public-facing use; public-facing project description prepared by EXPLR from the Competition submission; approved biography; up to two approved photographs submitted through this form; submitted Project Video; approved or reasonably edited/excerpted media-preparation responses and quotes; interviews or statements provided to EXPLR; photography taken during Festival activities; video and audio recordings made during Festival activities; and images of the Champion presenting or demonstrating their project. When these media rights become active While you remain only a Finalist, the broader Champion media rights described in this agreement remain inactive .
If EXPLR officially selects you as a National STEM Champion, the conditional Champion media authorization becomes effective at the time of selection, because you have already accepted the applicable Champion participation requirements through this agreement. No second media agreement or post-selection acceptance is required before EXPLR announces the Champion.
Editorial Use EXPLR may edit, shorten, caption, excerpt, format or adapt Champion materials for Festival-related communications, including adapting technical project descriptions for a general audience, and will not knowingly present an edited version in a materially misleading way.
Champion Selection Announcement If I am selected as a National STEM Champion, I authorize EXPLR to publicly announce my selection and use my approved Champion information and materials in connection with that announcement. I understand that the announcement may occur through a live or recorded television, radio, podcast, school, community, Festival, social media, digital, press or other media reveal and may occur before separate travel arrangements have been completed.
You must confirm this to continue.
7. Festival Photography, Video & AudioNational STEM Champions participate in a public-facing Festival where photography, video and audio recording will take place.
EXPLR and photographers, production companies, event teams and other service providers authorized by EXPLR may photograph, film or record Champions during official National STEM Festival activities. These materials may be edited, captioned, excerpted, combined with other Festival materials and used for the Festival-related purposes described in this agreement.
Ordinary editing, transcription, captioning, accessibility and production tools are permitted where they do not materially fabricate what the Champion actually said or did.
8. How EXPLR May Use Champion MaterialsIf you are selected as a Champion, permitted uses may include:
National STEM Festival websites; EXPLR websites; organic social media; paid promotion of the National STEM Festival or related EXPLR educational programming; Champion profiles; Festival announcements; press releases and press kits; media outreach; event signage and event screens; Festival programming; presentations; educational materials; impact reports; partner and sponsor reports; sponsorship and fundraising materials describing the Festival and its impact; future Festival awareness and recruitment; and historical and archival Festival documentation. This does not authorize unrelated commercial product advertising.
EXPLR may actively reuse authorized Champion materials for these Festival-related and related EXPLR educational communications for up to five years following the conclusion of the 2027 National STEM Festival. Materials already lawfully published may remain accessible after that period as part of the National STEM Festival’s historical archive.
9. Festival Partners & SponsorsIf you become a National STEM Champion, EXPLR may provide or make available approved Champion materials and Festival-created photography, video and audio to official National STEM Festival partners, sponsors, exhibitors and program collaborators for Festival-related use .
Festival-related use means communicating, documenting or promoting that organization’s participation in, support of or association with the National STEM Festival or related EXPLR educational programming.
Partners and sponsors do not gain the right to independently rewrite a Champion’s statements in a way that materially changes their meaning.
What this does NOT allow Without separate permission from the Champion and, where applicable, their parent or legal guardian, Festival partners and sponsors may not use Champion materials:
as an endorsement of a specific product or service; in standalone product or service advertising; in paid commercial advertising unrelated to the Festival; on commercial merchandise; for sale or licensing to unrelated third parties; for artificial-intelligence model training; to create a synthetic or simulated version of the Champion’s voice, face or likeness; in an unrelated commercial campaign; or in another use that materially exceeds reasonable Festival-related communication.
10. News & Editorial MediaEXPLR may provide approved Champion information and materials to bona fide television, radio, newspaper, magazine, digital news, podcast and other editorial media organizations for coverage of the National STEM Festival, the Champion, the Champion’s project, and STEM education, youth innovation or related Festival topics.
Approved information may include: name, Competition Region, project title, public-facing project description, approved biography, approved photographs, approved quotes, submitted Project Video, and Festival photography or video.
Participation in an individually arranged interview will be coordinated with the Champion and, for a Champion under 18, their parent or legal guardian. Independent editorial organizations are responsible for their own lawful editorial use, and once coverage has been published or broadcast, EXPLR may not control all subsequent editorial use or archival availability.
11. Compensation & EndorsementNo royalties or additional media-use compensation are payable for the uses of your name, image, voice, Project Video, approved materials or Festival-created media authorized under this agreement.
Champion travel, accommodation and Festival benefits are governed separately by the Official Rules & Terms and Champion participation documentation.
Nothing in this agreement requires a Champion to commercially endorse a sponsor, company, product or service.
12. Your Project & Media OwnershipYou retain ownership of your original project and any intellectual-property rights you hold in it, subject to any third-party rights that may apply.
This agreement does not transfer ownership of your invention, research, design, software, written work or underlying project intellectual property to EXPLR. If you are selected as a Champion, EXPLR receives only the non-exclusive rights reasonably necessary for the media uses described in this agreement.
Photography, video, audio and other Festival media created or commissioned by EXPLR or its production partners may be owned or controlled by EXPLR or the applicable creator, subject to this agreement and applicable law. This does not alter ownership of your underlying project.
13. Artificial Intelligence & Synthetic LikenessChampion materials collected through this agreement are not authorized for training public or third-party generative-AI models.
This agreement does not authorize EXPLR or Festival partners to create a synthetic or simulated version of the Champion’s face, voice or likeness for public or commercial use.
Ordinary editing, transcription, captioning, accessibility and production tools are permitted where they do not materially fabricate what the Champion actually said or did.
14. Limited ReleaseTo the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, I agree not to assert a claim against EXPLR or its authorized Festival production and service providers arising solely from a use of authorized materials that complies with this agreement.
This does not waive claims involving:
use outside this agreement; materially misleading endorsement; unlawful conduct; breach of this agreement; or rights that cannot legally be waived.
15. Attendance & Champion StatusNational STEM Champion status is conditional on in-person Festival attendance.
A selected Champion who does not attend the National STEM Festival in person cannot retain the National STEM Champion designation and will instead remain recognized as a 2027 National STEM Festival Finalist. EXPLR may offer the resulting Champion place to another qualifying Finalist in accordance with the Official Rules & Terms.
Where reasonably practical, EXPLR may update future Champion lists, website profiles and Festival records to reflect the change in status. Historical media or coverage created before the change in status may remain available and may accurately reflect that the student was initially selected.
16. Substantial ParticipationChampions are expected to substantially participate in the required Champion program during the Festival.
Missing individual activities because of illness, emergency, accessibility requirements or another circumstance approved by EXPLR does not automatically result in loss of Champion status. However, a student who does not attend the Festival in person cannot retain National STEM Champion status.
Exceptional circumstances may be considered when determining cancellation costs, but they do not convert National STEM Champion status into a non-attending award.
17. Travel ArrangementsIf you are selected, EXPLR will ask you to complete a separate Champion Travel & Participation Form before EXPLR begins making travel and accommodation arrangements on your behalf.
That form will include the applicable travel, cancellation and no-show terms. Once EXPLR is authorized to make bookings, the responsible adult may be required to reimburse EXPLR for documented, non-refundable and non-recoverable costs actually incurred if the Champion later withdraws or fails to attend without an approved exceptional circumstance.
No reimbursement obligation is created merely by completing this Finalist form.
I understand that a separate Champion Travel & Participation Form, including the applicable travel, cancellation and no-show terms, will apply before EXPLR makes any bookings, and that no reimbursement obligation is created by this Finalist form.
You must confirm this to continue.
18. Champion Media TermsBy signing this agreement now with a Yes commitment, you are confirming that you understand and agree to the Champion media and participation terms that will apply if EXPLR selects you as a National STEM Champion. Because you have accepted the Champion participation requirements in advance, EXPLR does not need a second acceptance from you before announcing your selection.
I understand that National STEM Champion is a public-facing, in-person role and that, if I am selected, the Champion media provisions described in this agreement will apply.
You must confirm this to continue.
