About Tech Challenge

About The Tech Challenge

Welcome to the 21st annual Tech Challenge!

The Tech believes every young person in Silicon Valley should have an opportunity to explore hands-on design. The Tech Challenge is our way of "inspiring the innovator in everyone". To date, an estimated 11,000 youth from across the Bay Area have honed their creative problem solving and teamwork skills as part of this annual program. Students' efforts are recognized and celebrated. Awards range from BEST OVERALL SOLUTION to MOST SPECTACULAR FAILURE.

Tech Challenge is a team program designed to get at the heart of innovation, where young people can develop creative solutions to real world challenges in familiar settings. Over the last 20 years, young people from middle school and high school have built devices to fight wildfires, collect samples in the rainforest, and explore Egyptian tombs.

Open, accessible, and affordable for all kids in grades 5 to 12, Tech Challenge provides young people with the real-life engineering design challenges that inspire creativity and build teamwork skills. Participants compete in two categories: Middle School and High School.

The Challenge:
Each Year, we announce a new challenge scenario inspired by a real engineering challenge. Students work as a team, at home, in the classroom, in a club or in after school programs to design and build a solution. One adult supervisor is required per team.

The Challenge takes place over several months as they form a team, design, build and test their project. Teams document every step of their process including testing, brainstorming, and most importantly what they learn through experimentation and failure. The Challenge culminates in Event Day, when the teams present their project to the judges.

Resources:
The Tech Museum of Innovation provides supporting resource tools to help make your team successful. The challenge season kicks off in February with our Information Clinic, the first in a series of supporting events including training for advisors, workshops for students and testing opportunities for the teams. Check dates of workshops here.

Event Day: Saturday, May 3, 9am-6pm, Parkside Hall
Teams celebrate their progress as they demonstrate their solutions for the judges in front of their friends and family. Key Dates

Awards
There are numerous awards to encourage, celebrate and recognize innovation. Some examples are: Best Overall Solution and Most Spectacular Failure Best Team Name, Teamwork Award, Judges Choice, Inspirational Awards.