By Cathy Jensen | Development Associate
We are excited to announce that The Tech Challenge is GROWING! We have 550 teams registered for the 2013 Tech Challenge (our 26th year!) and expect the number of participating students to double last year’s to approximately 2,800. The overwhelming interest and response from students, teachers, and advisers has led to the decision to change the program to culminate in two Tech Challenge Event Days – Saturday, April 20th for grades 5-6 and 9-12 and Sunday, April 21st for grades 7-8.
Visit The Tech Challenge website at: http://thetechchallenge.thetech.org/
And view the video from 2012 at: http://thetechchallenge.thetech.org/challenge
Participants are surveyed each year to track their learning and attitude toward science. Our 2012 survey revealed that 85% or more participants felt that The Tech Challenge helped them:
• Learn new things about science and engineering (86%)
• Work better with others (88%)
• See how they can solve real-world problems with science (85%)
• See that they can turn their ideas into a reality (88%)
• Compare different solutions and choose the best one (91%)
• Listen to and use other people's ideas (89%)
• Come up with creative solutions to problems (91%)
• Respond better to setbacks (85%)
• Have fun with science (89%)
The Tech Challenge reinforces scientific concepts students are learning in school and helps develop 21st Century skills of creativity, problem solving, design, teamwork, leadership, risk taking, perseverance, and learning from failure. This try-fail-learn-try-again approach to innovation is quintessential Silicon Valley.
We thank all of our donors for their support of this important program – you have helped make it possible for us to expand the program to meet its increasing demand from our young innovators! Please see the testimonials below:
From Jordon Toy, UC-Berkeley student: “The Tech Challenge made me think. It made me do some research, tinker, and experiment to try to overcome The Challenge. … The Tech Challenge encouraged me to pursue an engineering career. I am currently majoring in civil engineering at UC Berkeley, and I do attribute The Tech Challenge as an influence in my decision to do so.”
From Daniel Pare, 22: “Without The Tech and The Tech Challenge, it is unlikely I would be the engineer that I am today.”
From Francesca LeBaron, 23: “The Tech deserves credit for exposing women to science and technology so early in our lives. I know that it has certainly made a difference in mine.”
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