This year’s Imagine Cup local Mexico finals were held at one of the finest museums in the country – the Papalote Children Museum in Mexico City. The museum features science and technology innovation and is run by one of the most important non-profit organizations in Mexico that helps children’s development and learning through games, workshops and interactive activities with a touch, play & learn philosophy.
11,500 students registered for the Imagine Cup in Mexico and the top 10 teams were selected to compete in the finals. During the competition, students were free to roam about the museum grounds and had access to the IMAX Theater as well as the biggest planetarium in the country to watch science and tech movies.
Software Design Competition
Students from the Instituto Tecnológico de Acapulco took home the first place prize in the Software Design category and will represent Mexico at the Worldwide Finals in Poland. Their project helps to cure malaria by using social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter to raise awareness about the disease. By playing a Facebook game, a person can make real plants grow and produce artisimina, a substance needed to cure 90% of malaria cases.
Second and third place were awarded to the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nuevo León and Benemerita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, respectively. Through a partnership with Sony, each of the winners took home a new Sony VAIO PC.
Papalote Children Museum Award
The Papalote Award was a special award given to the team from the Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana. The students created software to enable deaf people to communicate through Windows Live Messenger using sign language. The software uses a webcam to read the sign language and translate it into text. This project will be showcased in the museum over the next year and it will be promoted in a tour around the country in the best science and tech museums in Mexico.
