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

JuniorIntermediateSenior
5-8 years old9-12 years old13-15 years old

Key Dates

Set 1 Released13 March 2023
Set 2 Released10 April 2023
Set 3 Released08 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*