The Digital Open Calls on Kids to Enter FOSS Contest

Non-profit research group Institute for the Future has partnered with Boing Boing and Sun Microsystems to create an online community of young inventors who want to work with open source technology. To sweeten the interest in becoming a part of The Digital Open, community organizers are holding a contest for kids 17 and under to submit their own open source projects for a chance to win a laptop, Flip camera, or one of several other prizes.

The contest categories cover everything from ecology and science to games and gadgets. The main requirement to enter is that the project must be licensed under one of several open source license options but, beyond that, the sky is pretty much the limit.

A handful of projects have already been submitted. Speedy, The ADD Robot, was created from scrap metal and an Xbox controller motor the submitter took from his brother without telling him (but will they share the prize if this project wins?). Another submitter developed a survival simulation game which was inspired by a fellow student who "created a text-only version of this, with many less features and [was] much less enjoyable"

The contest ends on August 15th, and projects may be submitted by photo, text, or video.