Range Resources 2026 STEM Challenge:

Range Resources STEM Challenge

THE 2026 CHALLENGE: WATER OPERATIONS

The Water Operations Team at Range Resources has a real-world challenge for you and your classmates. Our team utilizes between 60-80 miles of temporary and permanent water transfer pipe on a yearly basis in support of Completions Operations. Some of the unique geologic and surface features of Pennsylvania makes the task of moving water from a storage facility to our destination (Well Site) more interesting. If you have ever noticed while driving or walking around you will notice that most low spots (base of hills) contain some form of “water feature” whether that be a stream, river, pond, or wetland. One challenge when running above ground water transfer pipe is how to safely cross these water features with the environment in mind.

These crossings are governed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in the form of General Permits (GP’s). There are 2 types of GP’s, GP5’s which govern the actual pipe crossing and GP8’s which govern any type of equipment crossing (dozer, skid steer…etc.). Range works closely with engineering firms and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to ensure that no permanent disturbances are created in these areas when installing, operating, or removing temporary water transfer pipe. Your challenge is one that our teams face daily. Engineering, building, and operating a GP5 bridge across a water feature.

Challenge Info: Registration OPEN!

Wednesday, April 15, 2026 from 8:30AM to 1:00PM
at Range Resources, Southpointe: 3000 Town Center BLVD., Canonsburg, PA 15317.

Middle School and High School students are invited to join IU1 in partnership with Range Resources for the 2023 Range Resources STEM Challenge on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at Range Resources Southpointe (3000 Town Center Blvd, Canonsburg, PA 15317). Lunch will be provided.

The Range Resources STEM Challenge is a competition for students in grades 5-8 and 9-12 where they build a project out of the suggested materials. Each school is limited to a maximum of two teams per school per grade level due to space (openings may become available for more teams after initial registration). Each grade level will be tasked with specific challenge (see info above).

The competition will be held at Range Resources in Spouthpointe. There is a team limit at the current moment, no more than two teams per grade level (5th-8th and 9th-12th) per school. If you have more than two teams, please complete the form again until you have registered all teams.

Teams will have until April 15, 2026, to design and build their projects.

Presentations due by Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

Rules:

- A team of 2-5 students will work together on the project. A single student may compete if necessary.
- See grade level rules below.
- Each team will need to prepare a presentation (max 2 minutes) on their model/prototype and how they answered the challenge. The presentation will need to be submitted by April 1, 2026, and can be a video, Google site, PowerPoint, etc.

Please note in the rules below that ONLY standard popsicle sticks (4.5" L x 3/8" W) may be used, different colors may be used. For example: https://www.amazon.com

Grades 5th - 8th

Design a structure that is able to span 20” (must be longer as your structure will be placed between 2 chairs for testing). Width should be between 3-12”.
May use up to 200 standard popsicle sticks ONLY and a glue of your choice (hot glue, super glue, modeling glue…etc) using additional materials will disqualify your team.
Your structure must be able to support 10lbs of weight across that 20” span for at least 1 minute.
To test your bridge, weighted plates will be added in 2.5-5lb increments. Once your bridge passes the initial test (10lbs for 1 minute) weights will continue to be placed on your bridge until it fails. The team with the highest “failure” weight will gain extra performance points.
Students will be judged on creativity, design, and performance. Rubric can be found here: https://sites.google.com/iu1.org/range-stem-challenge/rubric
School will receive a $100 stipend upon successful participation in the challenge.
Prizes for students and teacher classroom (top 3 teams).

Grades 9th - 12th

Design a structure that is able to span 24” (must be longer as your structure will be placed between 2 chairs for testing). Width should be between 6-12”
May use up to 225 standard popsicle sticks ONLY and a glue of your choice (hot glue, super glue, modeling glue…etc) using additional materials will disqualify your team.
Your structure must be able to support 15lbs of weight across that 24” span for at least 1 minutes. To test your bridge, weighted plates, 3-5lb, will be placed equally across your bridge.
Students will be judged on creativity, design, cost (time & material, so keep track), and performance (flex, failure...etc). Rubric can be found here: https://sites.google.com/iu1.org/range-stem-challenge/rubric
School will receive a $100 stipend upon successful participation in the challenge.
Prizes for students and teacher classroom (top 3 teams).

Timeline:

January 20, 2026 - Registration Closes
March 17, 2026 at 10:30AM - Live Virtual Q&A with Range Resources
April 1, 2026 - Presentations Due
April 15, 2026 - Competition at Range Resources SP

Prototype

Teams will answer the challenge by creating a prototype of their idea.
Teams may only use the materials mentioned in the challenge above according to their grade level.
Teams may include a backdrop or artwork but judges will not consider this in their scoring.

Presentation

Each presentation will be 2 minutes for MS and 2 minutes for HS or less. Every student on the team should present.
Judges may ask questions of the team after the presentation, which will be sent to the teacher/advisor via email.

Resources:

AGENDA RR STEM Competition.pdf

Agenda

STEM Challenge Waiver.pdf

Range Waiver

IU1 Permission to Photo.pdf

IU1 Photo Release

Contact:

Sarah D'Urzo | IU1 Coordinator for Innovation & Design | sarah.durzo@iu1.org

Page updated

Report abuse