Category Archives: STEM Challenge

Are you ready to travel the globe—digitally? In 15-year-old Sanja Kirova’s game Around the World, players have a chance to visit historical landmarks, discover different cultures, collect souvenirs, and even learn how driving rules vary in other regions. The Portage, Indiana resident won the Nat Geo Explore Game Design Document High School category of the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge, her second winning game design document in the STEM Challenge. (Learn more about Sanja’s 2015 game design, Ezcape, here.)…

Since the age of 11, Aventura, Florida resident Samson Simhon, now 15, has been fascinated with game design. After mastering the basics of the Scratch platform, he taught himself increasingly complex code that allowed for 3D visual effects and advanced game mechanics. “I’ve created over thirty different projects,” says Samson, “including an iOS app called Jealous Bird.” Samson’s game design Prism won the High School Scratch category of the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. Prism is an updated take…

With only one level to go before receiving his black belt, 11-year-old Nathan Kuravackal drew on his extensive training in Taekwondo to create Can’t Catch Me!, winner of the Nat Geo Explore Game Design Document Middle School category in the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. The Tacoma, Washington native was inspired by his instructor Master Shon to create a puzzle-based game with a ninja as the main character. In Can’t Catch Me!, players travel through real-world destinations avoiding obstacles,…

Ever since 17-year-old Jonathan Lin was introduced to Minecraft in 2012, he’s been determined to create an adventure game of his own. When he learned about the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge, he knew it was the perfect opportunity to team up with his friends Preston Lai, 17, and Alexander Chen, 17, to create an immersive narrative-based game design. The boys spent the summer in their hometown of Whippany, New Jersey working on their top-down exploration game, Sanctuary, winner…

Thanks to early exposure to robotics and Scratch in elementary school, 14-year-old Georgia Martinez of Chicago, Illinois is now an avid game developer. “I was immediately hooked,” she explains. Georgia’s game, Fractured Forest, won the Middle School Scratch category of the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. In Fractured Forest, players search for resources and battle monsters as they navigate 20 floors of colorful gameplay. Georgia’s other hobbies include playing euphonium and piano, and her favorite subject in school is…

If you suddenly found yourself stranded in the hottest desert in North America, would you have the survival skills and environmental wherewithal to make it out in one piece? In The Great Desert Escapade, designed by 15-year-old Lauren Thomas from Boise, Idaho, players instincts are put to the test as they navigate the unforgiving Sonoran Desert. Thanks to an engaging and well-executed design, The Great Desert Escapade won the High School Gamestar Mechanic category of the 2016 National STEM Video…

Submissions for the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge closed Monday, August 15 and we’re extremely impressed by the nearly 5,000 students across the United States who registered. As we head into the screening and judging process, we’re excited to share what’s next for the STEM Challenge—and to reflect on what we’ve accomplished in just five years. Getting to Know the STEM Challenge Judging Process Our team is currently screening all of the STEM Challenge submissions, scoring each game design…

Last month, the National STEM Video Game Challenge co-hosted a game design workshop with Black Girls CODE, a non-profit that leads coding and technology workshops for young women of color across the country. More than 50 girls  attended the workshop to learn the basics of game design, teaming up to create both physical and digital games over the course of the day. Check out highlights from the event in this brief video. In the growing push to ensure early and ongoing exposure to STEM education for…

Imagine you were playing a game of Trivial Pursuit and this was your question: What institution has the largest collection of primary sources in the world, a board game on human morality, and now a video game expert? Answer: The Library of Congress Trivial Pursuit was just one of the games featured in our August 1, 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge teacher workshop co-sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. In the event hosted at the Library of Congress, a group of DC-area teachers explored…

Brooklyn Humphrey won the Best Middle School Unity game in the STEM Challenge last year. Here she shares her memories of what it was like to develop her first game, and what she is working on now. I never would’ve thought that I would win the STEM Challenge. I didn’t even think that I would make a video game in the first place, but now I’ve learned that anything is possible. Here’s a glimpse of my experience making my first video game.…