Minor Challenges Overview
For each STEM discipline, 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 scichal@robogals.org !
Suggested Ages for Difficulty Categories
| Junior | Intermediate | Senior |
| 5-8 years old | 9-12 years old | 13-15 years old |
Minor Challenge Set #1
| Difficulty/Field | Biomedical Engineering | Environmental Engineering |
| Junior | Construct Your Robotic Hand | The Power of the Wind |
| Intermediate | Build a Prosthetic Leg | Whatever the Weather |
| Senior | Making a Unique DNA Fingerprint | My Sustainable Home |
Minor Challenge Set #2
| Difficulty/Field | Mechanical Engineering | Software Engineering (Non-Programming) |
| Junior | Baking Soda and Vinegar Powered Car | Be Safe Online with Band Runner |
| Intermediate | Build a Mousetrap Car (Hands On) | Be Digitally Safe and Internet Awesome |
| Senior | Design Your Car Suspension | Be Smart, Secure, and Safe Online |
Minor Challenge Set #3
| Difficulty/Field | Astronomy | Electrical Engineering |
| Junior | Make Your Own Telescope | Introduction to Arduino: Blink an LED |
| Intermediate | Launch Your Own Rocket | Communications with Spacecraft |
| Senior | Measure the Size of the Sun with a Pinhole Camera | Create Your LED Message with TinkerCAD |
Submission Guideline
Please use the form below to make a Minor Challenge submission. If there are any issues send us an email at scichal@robogals.org.
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!