Middle School Challenge

On-Campus STEM Activities

WHAT IS THE MIDDLE SCHOOL CHALLENGE?

In 2023, SMILE will hold a challenge at Western Oregon University in the spring. The Middle School Challenge is a one-day event where students came together to solve a STEM-based problem and experience life on a college campus first-hand.

   2023 Date

  • Middle School Challenge at Western Oregon University: TBA

Previous Middle School Challenge Dates

In 2019, SMILE held regional Middle School Challenges in Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon and the Willamette Valley. Middle School Challenge was a one-day event. Due to climate change and over population, humans are leaving Earth to colonize Rare Air 23, a nearby planet that can support life.  Learning about food modification techniques teams needed to create viable food sources for Rare Air 23 and feed the quickly growing human population.

  • Eastern Oregon Challenge: Saturday, April 6, 2019 at Eastern Oregon University
  • Southern Oregon Challenge: Saturday, April 13, 2019 at Southern Oregon University
  • Willamette Valley Challenge: Saturday, April 27, 2019 at Oregon State University

In 2018, SMILE held regional Middle School Challenges in Eastern Oregon, Southern Oregon and the Willamette Valley. Middle School Challenge was a one-day event where students came together to solve a STEM-based problem and experience life on a college campus first-hand. The Challenge focused around the Edison Robots clubs were provided at the Winter Teacher Workshop.

More than 300 SMILE Club students joined in the Middle School Challenge March 8-10 at Western Oregon University and Oregon State University.

In 2017, SMILE's Middle School Challenge was held as a two-day event where students from the SMILE clubs across the state come together to solve a STEM-based problem.  On the first day, the Challenge event was held at Western Oregon University. The second day students went to Oregon State University to tour campus, experience life on a college campus, as well as see labs and research being done. Students also participated in lessons on bioenergy. During this Challenge event, student teams were challenged to develop a prosthetic arm to perform two tasks.

View Photos   2016-17 Mechanical Hand Prototype 1 Video

Read a story about the 2016 Middle School Challenge and check out photos from the event!

Read Story   View Photos