The STEAM Tank Challenge is celebrating a historic, record-breaking year, marking an extraordinary milestone in student innovation across the state. 

This season, the program received 618 team entries representing 108 schools across 78 school districts in all 21 counties of New Jersey. This unprecedented growth reflects the expanding impact of STEAM education and the commitment of New Jersey schools to fostering creativity, problem-solving, and real-world design thinking among students. 

Building on this momentum, the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) has launched an exciting collaborative pilot program with the Kean University teaching program, under the leadership of Assistant Professor, Dr. Karen Woodruff. 

Preparing Future Educators Through Experiential Learning 

This innovative collaboration embeds Kean University teaching candidates directly into the STEAM Tank ecosystem as judges and mentors. 

Through this immersive experience, pre-service teachers gain first-hand exposure to project-based and interdisciplinary instruction, authentic assessment practices, and student-driven engineering and design processes—grounded in the New Jersey Student Learning Standards which include interdisciplinary climate change education. 

“Pre-service teachers at Kean are preparing to lead innovative, student-centered, place-based learning that connects classrooms to real-world challenges,” said Dr. Woodruff. “The STEAM Tank Challenge immerses future educators in sustainable innovation, where they apply interdisciplinary thinking to authentic problems. Through direct collaboration with local schools, they build the content knowledge, confidence, and practical skills needed to launch their careers as impactful educators from day one.” 

Teaching candidates not only evaluate student teams but also engage in reflective practice — analyzing how STEAM frameworks translate into curriculum design, equity in access, and student engagement. 

Dr. Michael Salvatore, Senior Vice President of Administration at Kean and supporter of the STEAM Tank initiative adds, “Everyone needs a mentor. The value of guidance, feedback, and encouragement is foundational to our education system. That’s why initiatives like this matter. It’s more than a fun experience, it creates a space where professionals and future educators can step forward to serve, guide, and support our youth as they develop ideas, confidence, and real-world problem-solving skills.” 

Strengthening the Educator Pipeline 

The collaboration reflects a shared commitment to preparing future educators for modern classrooms that prioritize critical thinking, collaboration, and applied learning. By bridging higher education and K–12 innovation programs, the pilot strengthens professional pathways while expanding the reach and impact of STEAM Tank statewide. 

Dr. Timothy Purnell, Executive Director & CEO of the New Jersey School Boards Association believes NJSBA has championed the need to strengthen and sustain the educator pipeline in New Jersey: “Without great teachers in our classrooms, everything else we fight for falls short. This collaboration with Kean University reminds us that the same spirit of innovation that inspires our students can inspire the next generation of educators. Through their participation in this initiative, we hope pre-service teachers will leave better prepared and more inspired. It’s investments like this pilot program that yield immeasurable dividends, and we are always proud to be a partner in advancing public education.”  

Looking Ahead 

With record participation and a forward-thinking university partnership, this year’s STEAM Tank Challenge exemplifies the power of collaboration in education. 

By uniting student innovators, practicing educators, and future teachers, the initiative is not only amplifying STEAM learning statewide — it is building a sustainable model for educator preparation and student success in New Jersey. As collaboration between pre-service students and STEAM Tank grows, it has the potential to serve as a national model, exemplifying how universities and K–12 programs can work together to strengthen both student outcomes and teacher readiness. 

Outcomes  

The energy, innovation, and passion displayed throughout this year’s NJSBA STEAM Tank regional and finals competitions have been truly extraordinary. From elementary classrooms to high school engineering labs, student teams across New Jersey tackled real-world challenges with creativity, courage, and entrepreneurial thinking. Students developed solutions focused on sustainability, environmental impact, public health, safety, accessibility, mental wellness, and community improvement — proving once again that the future of innovation is already here.  

The regional rounds showcased hundreds of talented teams from across the state, all demonstrating collaboration, research, design thinking, and presentation skills that extended far beyond traditional classroom learning.   

We are incredibly proud to celebrate all our regional and finals winners, which include our high school championship teams and our outstanding elementary and middle school STEAM Teams who have now earned the opportunity to advance to the annual NJSBA Workshop STEAM Tank Championships this October in Atlantic City, N.J. These student innovators will represent their schools and communities on one of New Jersey’s largest educational stages, sharing groundbreaking ideas and inspiring audiences with their ingenuity and determination.  

Here are your 2026 STEAM Tank high school Champions:  

1st place – $2,500 – Team Copper Case – Dumont High School  

2nd place – $1,500- Team Osmosip – Ridgewood High School   

3rd place – $1,000- Team Freeze Your Unease – West Orange High School 

Here are your 2026 Elementary & middle school champions who will present at NJSBA’s Annual Workshop in October to earn a total of $10,000 in prize money for their school’s STEAM/STEM programs.  

Elementary Division:  

  • Team Spring Stick – Valley View Elementary, Lebanon Twp.  
  • Team Fire Safe Teddy- Robert Gordon School, Roselle Park 
  • Team Aqua Armor – Oak Valley Elementary School, Deptford Twp 

Middle Division  

  • Team IN SINK- Garfield Middle School- Garfield  
  • Team Reed Claim- Demerest Middle School, Demerest  
  • Team Hunger Haulers- Green Brook Middle School, Green Brook  

Prize money for our top three teams is sponsored by ELFNJ – The Educational Leadership Foundation of New Jersey was formed to advance the governance of New Jersey’s public schools, through training and research. Programs funded by ELFNJ, in partnership with the New Jersey School Boards Association, work to advance student achievement and improve school board governance, and in the past year touched on areas ranging from sustainability to school safety.  

If your school or district is interested in launching a STEAM Tank program and empowering students through innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and real-world problem solving, please contact Jennifer Siehl, Sr. Manager, STEAM Tank Challenge at steamtank@njsba.org .