Minor Challenges Overview
From the months of March through to May, we will introduce you to some of the disciplines of engineering and areas of science. To do this we will set new challenges every four weeks relating to various fields of science and engineering. For each of these disciplines we will release challenges at three levels of difficulty. Though these levels are designed to match your age groups, they are not limited to any set age and are open for anyone to try.
- Choose an area of science or engineering which interests you from the list
- Choose a challenge from your age category or higher
- Complete the experiment and explain your findings using multimedia i.e. with photos, drawings, images etc.
You must complete a minimum of TWO Minor Challenge projects from your age category or higher in total to be eligible to participate in the Major Challenge. Attempt as many of them as possible, including trying different levels as well as disciplines. This will help you to develop skills for the final Major Challenge, and it may even give you an idea to develop on for the Major Challenge.
For questions and/or feedback, please don’t hesitate to email us at [email protected] !
Suggested Ages for Difficulty Categories
Junior | Intermediate | Senior |
5-8 years old | 9-12 years old | 13-15 years old |
Key Dates
Set 1 Released | 13 March 2023 |
Set 2 Released | 10 April 2023 |
Set 3 Released | 08 May 2023 |
Submission Guideline
Please use the form below to make a Minor Challenge submission. If there are any issues send us an email at [email protected].
Notes on completing your Minor Challenges
In line with Robogals Mission and Vision, the Science Challenge wants to encourage the participation of as many girls and gender diverse students as possible. We highly encourage you to read through available projects before choosing ones you are more interested in. For each project, we have specified the STEM discipline, materials required, time commitment and project cost.
Materials Required: We understand it may be difficult to obtain equipment for some of our challenges, therefore we will indicate the Minor Challenges which do not require any equipment other than a laptop and internet connection with an asterisk (*) next to the name. Those not marked with an asterisk may or may not need a few or many supplies.
Time Commitment: Our Minor Challenge projects should take approximately 1-3 hours to finish, however, some projects/experiments may include observation and data collection over a longer period of time.
Cost: For each Minor Challenge project, we have described the approximate cost of ranges: 0-20 USD; 20-50 USD; and >50 USD.
We hope you enjoy completing our Science Challenge Minor Challenges!
Notes on completing Environmental Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Physics Minor Challenges
For students in the intermediate and senior age categories, you can choose to complete the virtual project or hands-on project.
Minor Challenge Set #1
Difficulty/Field | Biology/Biomedical Engineering | Mathematics | Software Engineering (Non-Programming) | Software Engineering (Programming) |
Junior | Build Your Own Lung Model | Sort Your Christmas Presents | Be Safe Online with Band Runner* | Beaver Achiever* |
Intermediate | Make An Ear Trumpet | Fun with Fractals | Be Digitally Safe and Internet Awesome* | Learn Python with Compute It* |
Senior | Tricky Eyes | A Mondrian’s Art Puzzle | Be Smart, Secure, and Safe Online* | Build a Stopwatch with JavaScript* |
Minor Challenge Set #2
Difficulty/Field | Chemistry/Chemical Engineering | Environmental Science | Physics/Astronomy |
Junior | Casein Plastic from Milk | Weather Science: Make A Tornado | Does It Float? |
Intermediate | Fire Tower | INT/SNR Virtual Project: Weathering With Walter* INT/SNR Hands-on Project: My Sustainable Home |
INT/SNR Virtual Project: Explore Exoplanets* INT/SNR Hands-on Project: Pinwheel Rocket |
Senior | Copper Plating |
Minor Challenge Set #3
Difficulty/Field | Civil Engineering | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
Junior | Build The Strongest Paper Bridge | Blink An LED with Arduino* | Build A Wind-Powered Car |
Intermediate | Make Your Own Anenometer | Build An RGB LED Circuit with Arduino* | INT/SNR Hands-on Project: Design A Parachute INT/SNR Virtual Project: Build A Gear on TinkerCAD* |
Senior | Build Your Own Seismograph | Build A Temperature Sensor Circuit with Arduino* |