STEAM Tank applications for the 2019 program will be available in the next few weeks. Entries – which must be a two-minute video describing the school’s team concept — will be due by the end of January.
From the applications submitted, teams will be selected to participate in regional competitions in the northern, central and southern regions of the state, with exact locations to be determined.
The STEAM Tank Playbook, with information and groundrules for the challenge, will be available to teachers and educators upon request. Prize money will be awarded again by PSEG.
In 2015, the NJSBA, in partnership with the U.S. Army, developed STEAM Tank, modeled after the popular television show, Shark Tank.
“The STEAM Tank Challenge gives public school students the opportunity to apply their creativity, to invent, and to find solutions to real-world problems,” said NJSBA Executive Director Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod.
“The interest in the STEAM Tank Challenge and the enthusiasm for the program within the education community have grown exponentially,” Feinsod continued. “The first STEAM Tank Challenge attracted 32 entries. Three years later, in 2018, 409 schools entered the competition. That’s phenomenal growth — and well-deserved.” (A video about the 2018 STEAM Tank Challenge winners has been posted online.)
Winners were announced at the New Jersey Education Association convention. In the STEAM Tank challenge, students begin to think like entrepreneurs, be creative and reengineer our world with their authentic and innovative solutions.
For more information please email STEAMTank@njsba.org
A map is available showing which schools had at least one submission, and the list of 2018 STEAM Tank award winners follows:
High School level
- First place, Firefighters TIC Mask: Manasquan High School
- Second place, Biodegradable /Recyclable Cast, (Eco Cast):Manasquan High School
- Third Place, (two schools honored) Equanimity Band: North Brunswick High School; and the Lunch Buddy App: Point Pleasant Boro High School
Middle School
- First place, Safe Bus Plus: Howell Middle School South, Howell Township Public Schools
- Second place, The Smart Alarm: Columbia Middle School, Berkley Heights Public Schools
- Third place, Catastrophe Care Kit: Readington Middle School, Readington Township Public Schools
Elementary School
- First Place (two schools honored), Bouncy Barrier: North Brunswick Public Schools, Arthur M. Judd Elementary School and The R Book Reusable Notebook: Hoboken Public School District, Wallace Elementary
- Second Place, The Doggy Cam, Beers St. School, Hazlet Township Public Schools
- Third place, The Anti Tip Chair, Harrison Township Schools
Three teams were recognized by the American Institute of Architects N.J. Chapter:
Improvement to the Human-Built Environment
- The Smart Alarm — Columbia Middle School, Berkley Heights Public Schools
- H20 Fortress – Camden County Technical High School
- Menu at Your Fingertips– Pleasant Valley School, Harrison Township School District
These three teams will be invited to participate and present at the AIA New Jersey Kids Design Day, an event held on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2018 at the College of Architecture and Design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark.
Two additional teams were recognized by the New Jersey School Boards Association and the U.S. Army in the category of Sustainability.
- Fabulous Folding Tiny House, Lambertville Elementary School, and
- Insect Cookbook, Lambertville Elementary School