International Christian STEM Competition

Overview

Date: April 4-5, 2025

Location: Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ

Participants will choose from five different challenges think innovatively, engage in problem-solving, and develop solutions and creations that align with biblical values and ethics. The International Christian STEM Competition consists of a combination of individual and team-based challenges. Students are encouraged to work collaboratively, leveraging each other's strengths and talents while embracing the values of respect, empathy, and teamwork. 

An established set of challenge criteria and checkpoints will be in place to ensure students are ready to advance to this level of competition.

Participation & Selection Process

Student Leadership & Learning and GCU believe every student has the potential to excel in the areas of STEM. We also know we must provide opportunities for students to try, succeed, sometimes fail, collaborate, and try again. This critical thinking and collaboration process is essential to student success. Therefore, an established set of challenge criteria and checkpoints will be in place to ensure students are ready to advance to this level of competition.

Qualification Process

1. Register your school for the competition.
2. Look through each STEM challenge and decide which one(s) you'd like to implement in your classroom.
3. Provide opportunities for experimentation, collaboration, and implementation.
4. Create teams for each challenge in which your school desires to compete. Depending on the challenge, teams typically include 2-5 students. 
5. Ensure teams progress through the ideation, development, and refinement phases and meet your established deadlines.
6. Decide which teams are ready to compete in the International Christian STEM Competition. Then, use the link in your registration confirmation email to register additional students by February 18.
7. Meet our team at GCU and get ready to compete!

Special Instructions for Schools Participating Virtually

To be eligible to participate virtually, your school must be designated as an international or global national school, or be located in Canada, Hawaii, or Alaska.

Schools competing virtually, will upload each team's digital Engineering Design Notebook (by February 14, 2025) and Performance STEM Challenge videos (.mov or .mp4 format- by February 28, 2025) by the designated due dates. Teams will receive assigned time slots to complete the Judge’s Interview via Zoom. Specific instructions regarding uploading of all materials and participation in interviews will be sent in January via email. 

STEM Challenges available to schools for virtual competition:

• Innovation in Service
• Ethical AI
• Aerospace
• *Roboquest RQ 100 and *Roboquest RQ 300
• * Roboquest challenges require additional virtual support and materials that must be purchased from Quest4Excellence

International Christian STEM Competition Challenges

The STEM challenges for the 2024-2025 school year will include:

1. Innovation in Service: Social Engineering Challenge
   Ready to make a difference in your community through the innovative use of technology to assist individuals with disabilities or special needs? In this challenge, you’ll have the opportunity to engage with community members through interviews, uncovering ways in which technology can enhance someone’s quality of life. You will then bring your vision to life by crafting your assistive technology solution in the form of a physical prototype, a CAD design, a process, or a labeled diagram.
2. Onsite Design Challenge
   Want to gear up for a challenge you can’t predict? Your team’s problem-solving skills will take center stage as you use the engineering design process to unlock a mystery challenge. Team building and communication are key to this challenge as your team designs, builds, and tests a given object/device within a specific time frame. Ready to tackle the unknown and see how your team rises to the challenge? 
3. Ethical Artificial Intelligence Game
   Here’s your chance to design, plan, build and test an interactive game utilizing Artificial Intelligence. But here’s the catch, your game must include the integration of a webcam system that integrates the use of gestures to control the game instead of keyboards or game controllers. It is an exciting opportunity to explore the world of AI-driven gaming and create a unique immersive experience for players. 
4. Aerospace Design
   Ready to take on the ultimate aircraft engineering showdown? You and your team will design, build, and launch an aircraft from a specified height with the goal of keeping it aloft for as long as possible and landing on a target below. But here’s the twist! You cannot use your body to launch it, instead, you must craft a launching device that propels your aircraft to the target. Prepare to defy gravity and test your engineering genius in the high-flyer challenge! 
5. Robot Search and Rescue
   Think you can build and program a robot that aids rescuers in clearing debris, securing safe passageways, and saving lives after a disaster? Well, this is the challenge for you! Using a purchased kit, you will be designing, building, coding, and driving a robot to complete various outlined tasks within an obstacle course. This is your chance to design a real-life robot superhero! Please note, that this challenge requires the purchase of a robot from Roboquest - see estimated costs below.
   
   Within this challenge, there will be two levels of competition to choose from:
   

• Beginner- RQ100 (estimated robot cost $250)
• Intermediate to Advanced- RQ300 (estimated robot cost $450)
  

Registration opens on August 5th