ThyssenKrupp and the newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) will today honor the ten winners of the first round of the national technology support program "Idea Makers" at the Ideas Park in Hanover. The prize is worth EUR5,000. The winners include five schools and nonprofit organizations from North Rhine-Westphalia, two from Lower Saxony and one each from Bavaria, Berlin and Brandenburg.

The following schools and projects will be honored:･ Gesamtschule Velbert-Mitte: Science and technology day
･ Fahrendeller Schule, Bochum: Fit at the PC
･ Hans-Peter-Ruf-Schule der Lebenshilfe Schwabach: Computer troop
･ Graf-Engelbert-Schule, Bochum: Construction and operation of iron and copper Renn furnaces
･ RUHRWERKSTATT e.V., Oberhausen: By go-cart to secondary school graduation
･ Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, Königs Wusterhausen: New technologies - a school profile?
･ Sternfreunde im FEZ e.V. (SiFEZ), Berlin: Children and young people's observatory
･ Integrierte Gesamtschule List, Hanover: Automation and robot technology
･ Außerschulischer Lernort der BBS Friedenstraße, Wilhelmshaven: Education for technology and nature
･ KIT-Initiative e.V., Mülheim an der Ruhr: Learning through teaching in physics and technology
The "Idea Makers" program supports projects by schools and nonprofit organizations which successfully promote technical understanding and technical skills among children and young people. It is not just a question of imparting knowledge but above all of using knowledge in concrete technical solutions. A panel of judges made up of representatives from the WAZ (Dr. Hendrik Groth, deputy editor-in-chief), ThyssenKrupp AG (Ralph Labonte, HR director) and two education experts (Prof. Elke Sumfleth, Duisburg/Essen University and Wolfgang Treffeisen, physics teacher in Düsseldorf) selected the winning projects. The competition was open to schools, classes, workgroups and projects from the whole of Germany.

As well as being honored by the panel, the selected projects will have the chance of winning a EUR5,000 prize. The winners will be determined by voting on the websites www.zukunft-technik-entdecken.de and www.waz.de during the Ideas Park from May 20 to 28, 2006. All entries will be presented on the websites, allowing interested educationalists and students to find out about the projects, locate contact addresses and exchange ideas with other technology initiatives.

As part of the Ideas Park opening gala in Hanover this evening, ThyssenKrupp will be presenting a special prize to the educationalist Walter Stein. The director of studies at the St. Michael Grammar School in Bad Münstereifel has supported more than 100 "Jugend forscht" science competition projects by his students in the last 20 years and led many of them to victory in regional heats. The award will be presented by the actor Armin Müller-Stahl.

The second round of the Idea Makers national technology support program will start at the beginning of the new school year on September 15, 2006. The competition is open to all schools and age groups, including kindergartens and other nonprofit educational bodies. Application forms and information are available for downloading from the website www.zukunft-technik-entdecken.de.

The Idea Makers program is part of the "Discovering Future Technology" initiative launched by ThyssenKrupp AG together with many partners in order to raise enthusiasm for technology in Germany. ThyssenKrupp AG has long been active in promoting technology among young people (Jugend forscht) and in supporting elite education. The "Discovering Future Technology" initiative is a further commitment by ThyssenKrupp AG to Germany as a technology location. The aim is to create more enthusiasm for technology among young people and improve the framework for innovation.

The Ideas Park 2006
The Ideas Park 2006 will open its doors at the EXPO site in Hanover from May 20-28. Organized by ThyssenKrupp and more than 50 partners, the nine-day event will allow visitors to experience tomorrow's world today on an exhibition area measuring over 30,000 square meters. The Ideas Park is a unique technology experience, an informative and emotional journey of discovery into the future. The activities and exhibitions revolve around three innovation themes: "Mobility", "Life and environment", and "Creativity". The "Mobility" theme will look at innovations in the transportation sector. In light of growing pollution and increasingly scarce resources, transportation has to become cleaner and more economical. What will the future look like? The "Life and Environment" theme will illustrate ways in which more and more people can share in progress and prosperity while at the same time protecting the environment. The "Creativity" theme area will show how technical innovations inspire architects and designers, among others, and what cultural and aesthetic highlights they can create.

The exhibition area in the German Pavilion is divided into 18 exhibit islands featuring over 150 innovations. On the EXPO Plaza, visitors can gain a playful insight into the world of innovations at 25 further stands, including a nano-soccer game only a few molecules in size, a model of the huge tunneling machines used to build the Gotthard Tunnel, and exciting exhibits concerned with car manufacture, shipping, space research, physical experiments and the use of innovative materials in the home. Around 400 engineers, researchers, inventors and students will be showcasing their work and inviting people to join in. Visitors can design and build their own rockets or cars using simple materials. They will also be encouraged to discuss their own ideas for the future. For example, up to 2,000 visitors will be able to take part in daily "future workshops". Under the title "Ideas Workshop: Young People for Germany's Future", up to 120 visitors each will take part in 18 workshops. Early reservation at www.zukunft-technik-entdecken.de is recommended.

The Ideas Park offers a varied support program for visitors. In the mornings, a program for young people is on offer, including a children's university and careers advice. Student inventor clubs will present their ingenious inventions. At the daily Ideas Show, presenters Ranga Yogeshwar und Helge Haas will introduce exciting experiments and together with experts look into the question of how good ideas come about. School students can experiment in a mobile student research laboratory. Prominent guests from the worlds of science, business, politics and the media will discuss important future issues in numerous talkshows with renowned presenters such as Heiner Bremer. On the EXPO Plaza, the ZDF children's quiz show "1, 2 oder 3" will be a magnet for young visitors three times a day, while the open-air theater spectacle Mova Futura will invite visitors to travel through time in the world of technology.

The weekly and daily event schedules as well as more information on the Ideas Park 2006 program in Hanover are available on the internet at www.zukunft-technik-entdecken.de. Admission to the Ideas Park 2006 is free!