Future Trailblazers

The Future Trailblazer Global Maker Challenge is a world-wide maker contest where teams of Salesforce volunteers partner with schools from the Circle the Schools program in selected hubs to inspire students to be independent learners and shape the world around them.

From 500 to 1,000 students will be introduced to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and create their vision of a sustainable future using cutting edge technologies like 3D printing, artificial intelligence, programming, and electronics. The contest aims to inspire a diverse set of young innovators to use technology as a force for change. Teams will compete regionally, and the top 6 teams will present at Maker Faire in a local Salesforce event.

Teachers and volunteers run a 6-weeks maker curriculum designed to be implemented in a middle grades elective course for 2 to 5 hours per week. (Alternatively, it can be implemented in a club setting if school day curriculum is not possible.) Volunteers come to the schools at least once a week and mentor the students in their learning and making.

The students are introduced to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and learn about 3D printing, coding, and electronics. Then, they use those new skills to build a solution to a problem they want to solve, related to SDGs and issues they see around them.

At the end of the 6-weeks, the students present their creations to a local Salesforce Event, in a Maker Faire setting where attendees can listen to students' pitches and vote for their favorite projects. Student teams then win awesome Maker Prizes and an understanding of how to make a positive change in their communities.

Examples of Students Projects

Pitch from the winning team of the Maker Faire @ Dreamforce '18

Those 4 students from Lawton Alternative School designed a Fog Catcher to solve drought issues. Hear more from them in this video:

Documentary on DF'18 Experience from Roosevelt team

Short-film that documents the fast-paced 3-week journey of the 2018 Trojan Tech Squad students from Roosevelt Middle School in San Francisco Unified, as they applied and were accepted to the Trail Maker Challenge at Salesforce's Dreamforce 2018 conference in San Francisco, California.

Pitches from Paris World Tour '18

4 Teams created their vision of the Connected City of the Future. Projects ranged from a smart garbage collector to a connected sidewalk that powers an underground garden or even a house that adapts to the handicap of its habitant. Winners got a Maker Space for their school.

Projects from Boys & Girls Club

Elementary students from the Boys and Girls Club Columbia Park Clubhouse envisioned the city of the future. Examples bellow.