News & Opportunities

Stem Kit Challenge for High School Students - Deadline March 3rd

Calling all high school students!
The Automotive Women’s Alliance (AWA) Foundation is thrilled to present the 2022 – 2023 STEM Kit Challenge.

☑ Are you an innovative or creative thinker?

☑ Do you have ideas on how to make Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fun?

☑ Do you want to help advance and empower younger generations in STEM?

☑ Would you like to earn 20 hours of community service from home?

If you answered “YES” to any of the above, AWA Foundation wants YOU to participate in the STEM Kit Challenge.

How Does it Work?
High school aged individuals, or teams of up to 4, may design and build a fun, replicable project kit demonstrating an element of STEM (a STEM Kit), with a materials cost of no more than $25.

Completed STEM Kits will be submitted to a panel of AWA Foundation members. The creator(s) of the winning STEM Kit design shall receive a $100 gift card and the potential for their kit to be produced and distributed to middle school students aged 13 and up, to engage them in STEM and a future of learning.

These kits should be challenging and engaging in nature, but feasible for a middle school student to assemble in ~45 minutes. All designs should be submitted with step-by-step instructions and a list of materials that can support the bulk distribution of the kits and that are clear enough for students to follow.

 Read complete rules, terms and agreement.

** The deadline to submit for the 2022 – 2023 STEM Kit Challenge is Friday March 3^rd, 2023. **

Selection Process 
2022 – 2023 STEM Kits shall be judged based on the following criteria:

• Presentation – with your submission, please include a video introducing your STEM Kit and describing the STEM concept it represents, in 5 minutes or less.
• Creativity
• Age appropriateness – is it challenging and engaging, but feasible, for middle schoolers to build and complete?
• Time-Limit – designs should aim for an ~45-minute assembly time.
• Budget – designs must remain within $25 for materials and construction to ensure fairness and replicability.
• Ease and clarity of instructions – can AWA Foundation produce multiple of these kits based on your design and instructions? Can a middle school student follow your instructions independently?
• Material list – is it clear what is needed to reproduce your STEM Kit? Are the supplies widely accessible?

** Winners will be announced by Friday, April 7^th, 2023. **

Prizes
Winners of the 2022 – 2023 STEM Kit Challenge will be awarded with:

• The opportunity to earn 10 to 20 hours of community service.
• A $100 Amazon gift card.
• The winning STEM Kit may be reproduced in bulk and distributed to a group of middle school students aged 13 and up. The winning team will have the option of having their name, along with the name of AWA Foundation and any participating sponsor(s), on the STEM Kit.

Get Started
Complete the online entrant application by visiting this link:  https://forms.gle/h1sPVoycWZMAN6gq6.

Download flyer to share with interested high schools and high school students.

Read about previous winners here and here.