LATEST NEWS & INFO Category: Design challenge

Last year’s design challenge kickoff filled up fast, so don’t miss your chance to register! Join us on October 3, 2019 for a full day of professional development at COSI. The #STEMdrivesOhio Kickoff will be a free, fun opportunity for K-12 teachers  to learn about Smart Mobility and get some tips on leading a design challenge with your students. You will have the opportunity to visit the Smart Columbus Experience Center, participate in a mini-design challenge, meet experts in both […]

The Ohio STEM Learning Network will host a statewide design challenge for K-12 students. This year, we’re partnering with DriveOhio to explore the topic of Smart Mobility through the #STEMdrivesOhio Design Challenge.  DriveOhio is a partnership of the state agencies housed in the Ohio Department of Transportation and devoted to advancing the Smart Mobility in our state. In simple terms, Smart Mobility means using emerging technologies to improve the mobility of people and goods. It’s the use of new technologies to […]

Many STEM educators are at the forefront of teaching via problem-based curriculum: Present a real-life problem, guide students in a brainstorm to solve the problem using STEM strategies. This method is the heart of the Ohio STEM Learning Network’s annual Design Challenge. Prior Design Challenges, posed to teachers and students across Ohio in all grade levels, tackled the opioid epidemic, heart disease and food insecurity. During each year-long challenge, students research, build and test a solution to the designated problem and then present their ideas at Battelle. This time, the challenge centers on improving transportation via “smart mobility.” So, what is smart […]

On May 8th, we got to welcome ninety students from 25 schools to our home at Battelle. Students told us all about their ideas for eliminating hunger and solving other major issues with Ohioans’ access to food. Today, it’s time to share some of the great photos and video from the event. Below, you’ll find a short video with footage from the event. We’ve also published an album of 135 photos from the event. Spot students or teachers from your […]

Nine months ago, we announced food insecurity would be our 2019 Design Challenge topic. Yesterday, students from schools all over Ohio gathered together to show us what they learned. Ninety students from 25 schools came to Battelle to showcase their ideas for growing access to safe, nutritious food. These students represented more than 4,000 young innovators. We’ll be publishing a complete photo album of the day. Until then, here are a few of our favorite posts. Wonderful to connect with […]

How to run your school showcase A hallmark of a successful design challenge is the exhibition of student learning, or, showcase. This is where students get to present and defend their solution to an authentic audience. We have asked all schools participating in the #STEMfeedsOhio design challenge to host a school showcase. Following the school showcases, we will invite select teams from schools to participate in the statewide showcase at Battelle. Though each school can decide how to run their […]

We’re picking up our series of Design Cycle posts today to talk about creating prototypes.  In October, we talked about defining the problem. In November, we provided you with a variety of resources on food insecurity to help students research the problem, and in December, we covered the next two steps of the process, imagining possible solutions and creating a plan by selecting a solution that looks promising. The next step of the design cycle is to build a prototype.  […]

This past August we, alongside Ohio Soybean Farmers and Ohio Corn and Wheat, introduced this year’s design challenge: Work as a team to imagine, design and prototype a solution to increase food security in your life, community, or world. We invite students from all across Ohio from all grades to tackle the issue of food security. We have spent the past couple months explaining the issue, calling out resources on the topic, and ways to engage the design cycle in choosing a solution. As […]

We’ve walked through the first two steps of the design process, defining and researching the problem. Today, we’re back to talk about the next few steps of the process—imagining and planning the solution of the problem. These stages are the most exciting parts of the design process, but they can also be the most difficult. To help us understand these stages, we reached out to two schools who participated in last year’s design challenge. First, let’s talk about the imagine […]

This week, we’re featuring a roundup of frequently asked questions about this year’s design challenge—from setting up your school showcase, to participating in the Battelle showcase in May. Once you’re done reading, please complete this form and fill us in about your school’s participation. Q: What are the requirements for design challenge projects? Each school will implement their design challenge in their own context, so we expect some differences. : There a few basic requirements we ask every school to […]