Tag Archives: national stem video game challenge

For 16-year-old Lexi Schneider of Dresher, Pennsylvania, the term STEM is missing something important—the letter “A”. An avid artist, her interest in video game design stems from her passion for creativity. Incorporating her love of both biology and graphic design, Lexi won the High School Game Design Document award in the 2015 National STEM Video Game Challenge for her original game, Body Builders. “For me it was more of a STEAM challenge,” she explains. “Creating my own game allowed me…

Matthew Bellavia, 14, is a long-time player of console and PC games, so it was a natural fit when he started learning programming back in sixth grade. After experimenting with building basic games in Scratch, the Sammamish, Washington-native started using GameMaker as a way to combine a drag-and-drop interface with the ability to develop new code as a way to generate more complex games. Utilizing his knowledge of geometry and physics, his video game Gravity Galaxy won the Middle School Gamemaker…

As an active member of the Boys and Girls Club, 14-year-old Sanja Kirova got her start in video game design through the Game Tech and Hour of Code programs at her local club in Merrillville, Indiana. After learning about the design process and the logic behind programming, she decided to combine her three primary interests—reading, drawing, and math—and develop a video game concept of her own using Scratch. In 2014, she was named the national winner in the Game Design category…

A long-distance runner, 13-year-old Lance Dugars knows how to go the distance. This very drive to cross the finish line helped him create The Brink Walker, the winning Middle School Gamestar Mechanic entry in the National STEM Video Game Challenge. Lance, from Katy, TX is an avid Gamestar Mechanic user who has been interested in video games “for as long as I can remember.” When he started creating his own games, Lance started experimenting with tools that would let him…

Like most 13 year old boys, Cole Nutgeren has diverse hobbies and interests, like playing the piano and fencing. But unlike many kids his age, he takes a systems thinking approach to everything he does and likes to think about the building blocks that make these systems run. It is this approach that helped him design the Best Middle School Scratch game for the 2015 National STEM Video Game Challenge award. Cole was immediately hooked on Scratch when a friend…

Olivia Thomas, 17, is a 21st century learner. We got to spend some time with this self-directed and self-motivated creative thinker at the National STEM Video Game Challenge winners weekend in Pittsburgh, and were impressed by her drive to chase the opportunities she wants and the generous spirit that pays those opportunities back to younger students. When we asked Olivia how she started designing games, she recalled a rainy day car ride with her dad: “I want to make a…

What do virtual reality innovators, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Mr. Roger’s studio have in common? All three were part of an amazing weekend honoring the winners of the 4th annual National STEM Video Game Challenge! Ten students and their families celebrated their achievements this past weekend in Pittsburgh, PA, home of this year’s regional spotlight. The events aimed to show the winners how to channel their passions into purpose and how to use that purpose on a meaningful pathway to…

The entries are in for the National STEM Video Game Challenge, and our expert judges have been busy playing video games! This year we’ve received more than 4,000 entries in the following categories: Gamestar Mechanic, Gamemaker, Scratch, Unity, Open Platforms, and Written Design Documents. The STEM Challenge has hosted more than 35 game design workshops across the country for youth and educators. The energy at these workshops was amazing—read more about a youth workshop that took place at the Science…

On Saturday, May 9, 17 kids between 8-18 years old joined a 50+ adult in their life (parents, grandparents, relatives, or friends) for a free, three-hour video game design workshop at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. hosted by AARP and MentorUp, E-Line Media and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center.  Allison Mishkin of the Cooney Center, and Mark German of E-Line Media led the pairs throughout a workshop to discover the elements that make up any game…

In an education setting, video games are often dismissed as mindless entertainment. This was the opposite in the National STEM Video Game Challenge Workshop hosted at the Science Museum of Virginia (SMV), where Barrie Adleberg and I helped students to critically think about the mechanics of a video game and apply them to their own passions. Students from all over Richmond filed into one of the Museum’s classrooms; they were clearly excited to find out what a video game design…