Your team must be two to four students plus one adult adviser. Every team member must be in Grades 4-12 somewhere — not necessarily in your class or school. Your adult adviser doesn’t need to be an engineer. After all, this is your team’s project and you’re in charge. 

Yes! You can get together with anyone to create a team of 2 to 4 students. The only rule is that every participant must be in Grades 4-12 somewhere — not necessarily in your class or school.

There are three grade divisions in the Reno Tech Challenge: Grades 4-6, Grades 7-8, and Grades 9-12. Each division has a different set of goals at the Showcase as listed on Page 5 of the Rules. The highest grade level in your team determines at which grade division your team will compete for prizes. 

No. The Tech Challenge is designed for students in Grades 4-12 and is not age-appropriate for younger students. We encourage third graders and below to attend the Tech Challenge Showcase as viewers in anticipation and excitement for participation in future years!

Your team and adult advisor must come to the Showcase on Saturday May 23 and:

·      Submit your engineering journal: Your team will turn in its journal in PDF format. Don’t forget to make it clear which design is your final solution. Your team won’t be around to answer questions during this part of the judging;

·      Demonstrate your device performance: Your team will demonstrate its solution and judges will evaluate how well your design meets the challenge for your grade division; and

·   Be interviewed about your engineering design process: Judges will talk with your team about how you arrived at a solution.

Yes, teams can have members from different grade levels. However, you will compete at the level of the team’s highest grade level. For instance, even though you are in sixth grade, your team will compete in the high school (grades 9-12) division.

Yes! If your team has members that need special considerations, please contact us.

Sure. When looking for sponsors, consider two things: what you need and who you know. Think about businesses that have the materials you are looking for and ask for donations. Or talk to friends, family, neighbors or anyone else who might want to help you. You’ll want to describe the competition and why you are participating. Explain where you are in the design process and how their assistance will help you. Take things for them to look at, like your latest device sketch, etc. Respect their time and keep it brief.

See page 6 of the Rules. The Lifting Device must be operated using indirect methods such as flexible strings or rigging, motor drives, hydraulic tubes, etc. Teams may not move their devices directly with their hands. Consider the small size of a human next to a large housing module. In the real world you would not be able to pick a house up with a long stick you are holding in your hands.

A reset is direct human intervention by the team beyond operating the device controls. For example, other than attaching/detaching the module to the device, any touching, pushing or pulling the Housing Module itself is a reset. Note: Housing Modules can be repositioned with the Lifting Device as much as you like, as long as you only touch the device controls.

A transfer starts as soon as the module is connected to the Lifting Device, and ends when the team disconnects it. If the module falls off or needs to be touched by hand in mid-transfer, then it is manually taken back to the start area (reset) and another transfer can be attempted.

Consider the real-world application of this challenge. On a construction site, the housing module would be damaged if dropped from a significant height. Although 1 cm is small on our test rig, the equivalent several feet might be large on a real construction site. Therefore when placing the module, make sure the device does so in a manner that would not damage the module, or the test rig. Modules must not be dropped or thrown. 

Yes, you can reposition a module with the Lifting Device multiple times, as long as you only touch the device controls and do not touch the module by hand.

The module is a solid piece of wood that weighs approximately 9-11 oz.

Every registered team gets one wooden module for testing at home or at school! This is the same type of module that will be used on Showcase day. We will send you more information about getting your module after registration.

The device must fit through a standard doorway. There is no weight limit, however the team must be able to transport and set it up without adult help.

A programmable robot may not be forbidden; however pay close attention to the rules regarding: 

The device needs to be built by your team. Purchased components may be part of your device. Purchased kits are not allowed. 

Electricity is allowed in the form of sealed batteries. No AC electricity is provided at the Test Trials or Showcase

The judging process consists of three areas:

·      Engineering design process: Judges will talk with your team about how it arrived at a solution.

·      Engineering journal: Your team will turn in its journal in PDF format. Don’t forget to make it clear which design is your final solution. Your team won’t be around to answer questions during this part of the judging.

·      Device performance: Your team will demonstrate its solution and judges will evaluate how well your design meets the challenge.