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Registration is open for the 2025 STEM Design Challenge featuring K'Nex!
The 2025 Challenge
The 2025 Challenge
In this challenge, elementary and middle school students will focus on Industry, Innovation, and
Infrastructure (UN Sustainable Development Goal 9) by designing a prototype that addresses a
real-world problem related to infrastructure, transportation, or urban development. The goal is to inspire
students to think about how cities, roads, bridges, and systems can be built or improved to be more
efficient, sustainable, and accessible.
Challenge Info:
Challenge Info:
The STEM Design Challenge is a competition for students in grades 4-8 where they build a project out of K’Nex pieces. Teams in grades 4-5 and grades 6-8 will only be able to use only K’Nex pieces.
The competition this year will be in person at the California University Convocation Center South Wing. There is a team limit at the current moment, no more than two teams per grade level (4th-5th and 6th-8th) per school. If you have more than two teams, please complete the form again until you have registered all teams.
Teams will have from November 1, 2024 to March 19, 2025 to design and build their projects. We invite you to save the date for the IU1's Regional Competition for the STEM Design Challenge featuring K'Nex on March 19, 2025 at the PennWest California's Convocation Center from 9AM - 1PM.
The state competition will be held on Friday, May 9th at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA.
Rules:
Rules:
A team of 2-4 students will work together on the project.
Students must create their prototype using no more than 1,400 K’Nex and/or Engino pieces. String, tape, and rubber bands are permitted.
Teams must bring their materials to the competition and will have 2 hours to recreate their project for judging.
There can be no pre-constructed components brought to the competition. Prototypes must be built "from scratch."
Projects must fit on a 6-foot-long table. Water may not be used as part of the display.
Each team will need to create and submit a design notebook and a blueprint for viewing at the competition.
Each team will need to prepare a presentation (2 minutes or less) on their model and how it answers the challenge.
Location:
Location:
PennWest California Convocation Center, South Wing.
All teams are asked to be dropped off in the front of the building to unload their materials.
Parking is available for all attendants in the designated parking areas, parking passes will be issued for the event. Please review the California University Campus map for more details.
Unfortunately, parents may NOT attend this event but students are welcome to take pictures and record with their advisor/teachers permission.
Notebook
Notebook
Note books can be a word document, a Google Document, or placed into a Google Site etc.
They must be typed no written note books will be accepted.
This should be a journal of the team’s progress from start to finish.
The Notebook should include elements of the Engineering Design Process
Blueprints
Blueprints
Blueprints can be photographs of the building process, a power point with images, a 3D rendering, or a drawing.
A blueprint is a technical drawing or design plan for a project. It is used to represent the final product.
Prototype
Prototype
Teams will answer the challenge by creating a prototype of their idea.
Teams will answer the challenge by creating a prototype of their idea.
Teams may include a backdrop or artwork but judges will not consider this in their scoring.
Presentation
Presentation
Each presentation will be 2 minutes or less. Every student on the team should present.
Judges may ask questions of the team after the presentation.
If presenting with technology (i.e. Google Slides, cloud based, etc.) please have a copy saved to your desktop in the event of connection issues.
Contact:
Contact:
Sarah D'Urzo | IU1 Coordinator for Innovation & Design | sarah.durzo@iu1.org
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