The Barbara Schick Center for Economic Education at UNLV, the operational arm of the Nevada Council on Economic Education (NVCEE), is seeking student participants in grades five through 12 for its Spring 2002 Stock Market Simulation Game.

The game, in which teams of students invest hypothetical dollars, is designed to teach students about economics, finances, and math. It is open to classrooms throughout Nevada.

Last year, nearly 16,000 Nevada students participated.

The winner of the fall game was a team of students from teacher Kim Hardgroves's classroom at Brinley Middle School in North Las Vegas. The team won the statewide competition by turning $100,000 in hypothetical start-up money into $203,048 in just 10 weeks.

Dates for the spring game will be Feb. 11 to April 19.

Classrooms need to have Internet access in order to participate.

Teachers who have never before participated in the game are required to attend one of the workshops that will be conducted throughout the state in late January and early February. Workshops will be offered Jan. 29 and 30 in Clark County; Feb. 1 in Washoe County; and Feb. 4 in Elko County.

Pre-registration for the workshops is required. Space is limited because of the amount of computer lab space available. The workshops will present information on the basics of stock market trading mechanics in the context of a curriculum model covering economics, personal and consumer finance, and an understanding of the free-market system. Substitute release coverage is available for the workshops.

The Nevada Stock Market Game is sponsored by the office of Secretary of State Dean Heller, which pays team fees from fines generated by securities fraud violators.

Pre-registration for the spring game is available.

Teachers interested in learning more about the game or about the workshops should contact John Mundy, programs coordinator at the Schick Center and executive director of the NVCEE, at (702) 363-4740 or at jmundy@lvcm.com.