eSTEM Challenge

Challenge Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026 from 8:30am-3:00pm 

Eligibility:  3rd - 5th grade students

# of Team Members: 4 - 6  student members per team (Limited to 1 team per school)

*We are no longer limiting the number of schools in a school district from participating!

Registration Deadline: Friday December 12, 2025

Registration Fee: Payment method must be by check  or school purchase order 

Early Bird Registration: $299 per team (must register by November 17th)

General Registration: $349 per team 

Costs includes:

• Supply kits

• Engineering Logbooks (one per student)

• A teacher-coaches live, online professional development workshop

• An opportunity for teacher-coaches to participate in a hands-on session with the provided technology that will be used for the challenge prior to challenge kick-off

• An NJIT student mentor who will meet with the team on a weekly basis for seven weeks prior to the on-campus competition

Challenge Components:

• Engineering Design Device Demonstration (40%  of the overall score):. The first component of the challenge will require students to demonstrate the devices they worked on for the six weeks leading up to the competition. Judges will time, observe and evaluate the students using a score sheet during the device demonstration. 
• Game Show Challenge (15% of the overall score): The second part of the challenge will be a game show style question and answer challenge where the teams will use a Computer Application to answer questions. 
• Oral Presentation (30% of the overall score): The third part of the challenge will feature team members’ presentations of project overviews that include their design processes, concepts and evidence of teamwork. The presentation will include a board/slide display and provide information on Engineering principles used as well as methodology and  scientific reasoning.
• Engineer's Logbook (15% of the overall score): The Fourth part of the challenge will require the team members to complete and submit an Engineer’s Logbook.

NJIT Student Mentors:

Each team will be assigned an NJIT Student Mentor that will meet with the team on a weekly basis for seven weeks prior to the challenge to answer questions regarding rules and logistics, and provide overall guidance to the team. 

Teacher (Coaches) Professional Development:

Monday, January 26, 2025 from 3:30pm-4:30pm (virtual)