Take a Shot at Changing the World invites educators to use the half-hour program Chasing Covid in their classrooms to inspire conversations on the link between science and creativity and to encourage middle and high school students to make their own videos.

About the Film

This engaging and inspiring film takes viewers inside the lab of The University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Vaccine Research where Dr. Paul Duprex, Director and Jonas Salk Professor, and his team have been working collaboratively with scientists around the world to unlock the secrets of COVID-19 and find ways to defeat coronavirus.  It also explores how today’s research builds on the pioneering work of the Pitt Virus lab which developed the Salk polio vaccine and how changes in technology have led to a new “vaccine renaissance.”

The film may be broken up into modules which focus on:

• the history of vaccines
• how vaccine candidates go from lab to the public, and
• questions about vaccine distribution, including issues of hesitancy and equity.

Contest Rules

• Videos must be between 30 seconds and 2 minutes in length.
• Videos may not contain any copyright sounds, images, or video.
• Videos may be about one of the following topics: the science behind virology, the challenges posed by combatting a novel virus like Covid-19, the historic role of vaccines and the challenges of vaccinating a global population, or the links between scientific progress and creativity.

Prizes

Prizes will be given out in each division (middle school and high school)

• 1st place – $500
• 2nd place – $250
• 3rd place – $100