Students Learn Innovation and Earthquake Engineering at The Tech Challenge
More than 2,000 students participated in the youth engineering design competition at The Tech Museum of Innovation centered on solving a real-world problem
Sunday, April 26, 2015, San Jose, CA — Thousands of students from across Northern California participated in the 28th annual Tech Challenge presented by Cisco this weekend after working for months to design, build and rebuild structures to stand up to three simulated earthquakes. The challenge is always focused on a real-world problem, and this year’s theme had particular relevance given the devastating earthquake in Nepal just hours before the competition began Saturday.
“The tragic events in Nepal highlight the importance of seismic engineering and inspiring the next generation of engineers to think about real-world problems,” said President and CEO of The Tech Tim Ritchie. “It’s inspiring to watch these creative young minds hard at work and know they are up to the challenge of keeping us all safe in the future.”
The Tech Challenge is a signature program of The Tech Museum of Innovation in downtown San Jose, through which students learn important lessons in the engineering design process, teamwork, persisting through failure, leadership, and problem solving. It’s one of the most diverse science competitions in the country; more than 40 percent of the participants are girls and almost 40 percent come from low-income communities.
The Tech Challenge organizers purposefully engage girls in science, technology, engineering and math by making the challenge personally relevant. Teams are encouraged to express themselves creatively with costumes, their choice of materials, and through their engineering journals. This year, as in the past, multiple awards were earned by teams comprised of girls.
"I want to be a computer engineer,” said Fatima Kazi, a middle-schooler from Santa Clara who competed with her two sisters and her brother. Fatima’s team, Ring of Fire, won the Judges Inspiration Award for the way they committed to continuing their learning after the end of the competition. “The Tech Challenge is like your dream of what you want to be when you grow up. And you make it happen in just three months."
Sponsorship from organizations including Cisco, Aruba Networks, SAP, EMC, Intel, Motorola Solutions Foundation and Samsung made the 2015 Tech Challenge possible.
Next year’s program will focus on flight and EMC will be the presenting sponsor.
For more information visit The Tech Challenge page.
Media Contact: Marika Krause | PR Manager | 408-591-0027 | mkrause@thetech.org
Top Awards:
4th through 6th Grade
Best Overall First Place
Tectonic Dudes
Team 414
Hyde Middle School
Best Overall Second Place
Endless Potato
Team 486
Best Overall Third Place
Kung Fu Penguin
Team 549
Bullis Charter School
7th and 8th Grade
Best Overall First Place
Power Builders
Team 243
Best Overall Second Place
HDV Impact
Team 429
St. John Vianney School
Best Overall Third Place
Cookie
Team 436
Hyde (Warren E.) Middle School
High School
Best Overall First Place
Half Moon Bae
Team 478
Cupertino High School
Best Overall Second Place
Girls on Fire
Team 21
Christa McAuliffe Alums
Best Overall Third Place
Quake Busters
Team 481
Lynbrook High School
A full list of Tech Challenge award winners can be found here.
