Today, The California Museum launched the California Hall of Fame Dreamers Challenge, which is an opportunity for high school seniors to win two $5,000 scholarship prizes. Besides offering a good chunk of change in tight economic times, it completely caters to students’ creative outlets and provides an opportunity to win a scholarship without any narrow constraints.

First of all, the topic is: what would you do to change the world?

This is a HUGE, open-ended question with no limitations in sight. During this time of re-evaluation, people are looking for innovation, thinking outside the box, and being more creative, more passionate and more resilient. This scholarship has no wrong answers. And high school seniors, creative and open to new ideas, have a lot of dreams!

Last year, when the Museum first sponsored this scholarship - which it does in partnership with Comcast (which supplies the scholarship money), the Department of Education, and the California State Fair and Exposition - entries ranged from ideas on building global warming fighting satellites to establishing beauty salons for cancer patients. Young people are filled to the brim with great ideas, and are often not given the chance to outline them. The Dreamers Challenge asks students to think big! inspiringly! meaningfully! with total abandonment.

Secondly, the entry can be submitted in any medium that best represents their talents and dreams.

If students want to change the world with art, they can send a painting, or sculpture or drawing. If they want to be a filmmaker, they can send a short film or a power-point presentation with some awesome graphics. Music, poetry, models of architecture, short stories...

Again, the possibilities are endless.

All the Museum asks is that all entries be submitted in a digital format (check the website, CaliforniaMuseum.org for more information on this).

Of course, essays are accepted too. Last year, the winner of the $10,000 scholarship (her initial prize money of $5,000 was doubled by Comcast at the last minute) wrote a heartfelt essay about providing services to children who lost parents in wars overseas. It was an amazing piece from her heart, and her ideas were fleshed out to outline a realistic program that could make a huge difference.

Governor Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver will honor the winners at the 2009 California Hall of Fame ceremony in Sacramento. The students, with their plus one, will receive their awards and hang out with the a-list California Hall of Fame inductees – a pretty cool perk in the scholarship pool of prizes.

The Dreamers Challenge is a program of The California Museum's California Hall of Fame, which honors Californians who changed the world by dreaming big and breaking barriers. Steve Jobs, Tiger Woods, Walt Disney, Alice Waters, Sally Ride and Rita Moreno have all been honored, among others (38 to date) and serve to inspire future generations.

Now, the Museum asks two students, one from Northern California and one from Southern California, to be inspired, dream big, and dare to make history.

The Museum starts taking entries today till October 5th. Contestants will be notified by November 20th.

For more information on the scholarship, visit CaliforniaMuseum.org.

The California Hall of Fame is sponsored by Chevron Corporation and Accenture.