This is rather impressive. I've just learned of a project for Aussie
kids:


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<fontfamily><param>Arial Narrow</param> a large group of Victorian
secondary and senior primary students on the topic of nanotechnology ... 
These students are participating in a national extension program in
divergent thinking and problem solving called the Macquarie Bank Future
Problem Solving Program, run by Future Problem Solving Program Australia.
 In all, there are about 400 teams of students nationally who are
registered in the Program, although it is estimated that it caters to
about 6000 students nationally each year</fontfamily>.

<fontfamily><param>Arial Narrow</param>

Future Problem Solving Program Australia is a non-profit educational body
that is an affiliate of the International Future Problem Solving Program,
currently based at the University of Kentucky in the USA. It is
administered by a largely volunteer Committee of Management, comprised
primarily of practising educators, including myself, and has operated in
Australia since 1988.  ... the operation of Program is currently
supported in part by a three-year grant from the Macquarie Bank
Foundation...


The focus of the Program is the study of four topics each year. 
Essentially, students work in teams of 4 to research the topic as widely
as possible before analysing a future scene related to that topic.  The
future scene is a written description of a situation set about 30-40
years after the current date.  The team's analysis is written up in a
special booklet that covers the six stages of the Future Problem Solving
(FPS) thinking process in a two-hour session.


The third topic acts as the Qualifying Problem for the national finals of
the Program, and this year the topic is Nanotechnology.  


A more comprehensive look at the Program can be seen  on our website
(www.fpsp.org.au). 


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Interesting!


Damien Broderick

www.thespike.us</fontfamily>