Overview​
The Tech Challenge is an annual team engineering design challenge for students in Grades 4-12 where participants develop creative solutions to a real-world problem. It is conducted by the Tech Interactive, San Jose. This is a great way for children to improve their creative problem-solving and teamwork skills. Participants spend months collaborating and becoming deeply engaged in the challenge while documenting their progress and designs. The program culminates in an inspiring two-day showcase in April where teams put their solutions to the test in front of judges.
Orientation
This year, the PTA will help organize teams from Grades 4-6 at Sinnott and reimburse the team registration fee for up to ten teams (first come, first served). Each team can have between 2 to 6 students from Grades 4-6 and requires one adult to act as the team adviser. We hope to increase the participation from Sinnott with your help.

Sign up with Sinnott PTA either individually or as a team. All team members need to be registered by their respective parents. For individual registrations, PTA will create a WhatsApp group for the parents to help them discuss and form teams. The PTA will also create a WhatsApp group to share announcements and reminders with all the team advisers.
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Contact us: [email protected]
​Important Dates
Oct 4, 2023
Team registration on Tech Challenge website opens for 2024 Tech Challenge.
Each team needs to be registered by their team adviser.
Teams that register before Nov 30, 2023 will receive free supplies from Tech Challenge to help with their home testing.
Nov 1, 2023
Parent Orientation Zoom meeting.
Sign up with Sinnott PTA opens.
Nov 19, 2023
Last day to Sign up with Sinnott PTA (as individual).
For individual registrations, PTA will create a WhatsApp group for the parents to help them discuss and form teams.
Jan 14, 2024
Last day to Sign up with Sinnott PTA (as team).
All team members need to be registered by their respective parents.
Jan 20, 2024
Last day for Team registration on Tech Challenge website and submitting the reimbursement form to Sinnott PTA (by each team adviser).
Please email Reimbursement form to [email protected] along with the PDF copy of the Tech Challenge registration receipt email.
Sinnott PTA will reimburse the team registration fee ($50) for up to ten Sinnott teams (first-come, first-served).
Oct 2023 - April 2024
Adviser trainings, Info clinic sessions, Team workshops & Test trials at Tech Interactive, 201 S Market Street, San Jose, CA 95113. ​Refer Participant Event Schedule.
Registration is required and attendance may be limited.
Each team should attend one Info clinic, one Team workshop session, and at least two Test trials.
Each team adviser and the parents should attend one Adviser training session.
April 27, 2024
Final Tech Challenge Showcase at South Hall, 435 S. Market Street in Downtown San Jose
2024 Tech Challenge: Cosmic Quest!
SPACE – the possibilities are limitless!

​From figuring out how to redirect asteroids to finding planets that could support life, scientists are always collecting information about our universe. Scientists are on a quest to learn more about a distant planet and its largest moon. Can your team deliver fragile, but highly important supplies to this moon’s surface?

The challenge: Deliver multiple payloads to different locations.

Useful links: ​
2024 Sinnott Teams

​We are very excited to have 10 teams from Sinnott (with a total of 40 students) that participated in the 2024 Tech Challenge: Cosmic Quest!

Grades 4-5 Division:

Grade 6 Division:

We are thrilled to announce that our teams won two awards at the 2024 Tech Challenge showcase!
  • Team #17 (Galactic Troopers)
    • Outstanding Engineering Design Process Award for Grade 6
  • Team #264 (Guardians of the Galaxy)
    • Outstanding Engineering Journal Award for Grade 6

​Congratulations to the award winners and all of our participants!
Thank you to everyone who supported each team!
We want to give a big shout-out to all of our amazing team advisers for helping guide each team during the challenge!
​MUSD Recognition for our 2023 Tech Challenge Winners
We are very excited to announce that the MUSD recognized our 2023 Tech Challenge winning teams at the MUSD board meeting on August 22, 2023!
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​MUSD Board Meeting Highlights Newsletter
​Past Tech Challenges
​https://www.thetech.org/core-programs/the-tech-challenge/past-challenges
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Year & Challenge Name Design Challenge Winners from John Sinnott Elementary Teams from John Sinnott Elementary
2024: Cosmic Quest Build a launcher to deliver multiple payloads to different locations. Grade 6
Outstanding Engineering Design Award
Team #17 (Galactic Troopers)

Grade 6
Outstanding Engineering Journal Award
Team #264 (Guardians of the Galaxy)		 Final Showcase Highlights


Grades 4-5 Division:

Team #427 (Team Black Hole)

Team #453 (Techno Kitties)

Team #462 (Guinea Pigs in Space)

Team #486 (Astros)


Grade 6 Division:

Team #17 (Galactic Troopers)

Team #170 (Hyperspace Heroes)

Team #177 (Maximum Velocity)

Team #192 (Dogs and Ducks)

Team #195 (Tech Talons)

Team #264 (Guardians of the Galaxy)
2023: Survive The Storm! Build a structure to protect vulnerable objects from extreme winds.
 Grades 4-5
Jerry Lovelace Love of Engineering Award
Team #168 (Tech Troopers)

Grade 6
Best Team Safety Award
Team #225 (N/A)

Grade 6
Judge's Inspiration Award
Team #225 (N/A)

Grade 6
Outstanding Engineering Journal Award
Team #245 (The Storm Troopers)

Video Contest: 2nd Place
Team #245 (The Storm Troopers)
 Final Showcase Highlights

Video Contest Entries

MUSD Recognition


Grades 4-5 Division:

Team #168 (Tech Troopers)

Team #170 (Galaxy)

Team #195 (Sinnott Storm Shockers)

Team #224 (The GR-AND Storm Chasers)

Team #277 (The Eraser Pigs)

Team #305 (The Super Stormy Chipmunks)


Grade 6 Division:

Team #196 (Storm Landers)

Team #225 (N/A)

Team #245 (The Storm Troopers)
2022: Kinetic Commotion Create a device that transfers stored energy to make sound! Grades 4-5
Jerry Lovelace for the Love of Engineering Award
Team #75 (The Incredible Inventors)		 Final Showcase Highlights


Grades 4-5 Division:

Team #65 (Tesla Coils)

Team #66 (Three Nerds)

Team #75 (The Incredible Inventors)
2021: Ultimate Upcycle Assemble a useful item out of cardboard that transforms into something else.
 Grades 4-5
Judges’ Choice: Outstanding Research
Team #35 (Team Titans)
 Grades 4-5 Division:

Team #35 (Team Titans)
2020: Launch. Land. Expand! Build a launcher to propel devices in an arc through a hoop to land in a designated area. After landing, devices should expand into a larger size.
2019: No Roads, No Problem! Design and build a hovercraft that can navigate different terrains.
2018: Drop & Dash Design and build a device to survive a drop and deliver supplies. No batteries allowed! Grade 6
Judges’ Choice: Real-World Application
Team #220 (Dare to Dream)
 Grade 6 Division:

Team #220 (Dare to Dream)
2017: Rock the Ravine Design and build a device to help explorers cross an ice field with multiple ravines. Grades 4-5
Judges’ Choice: Best Effort
Team #25 (Purple Pineapples)
 Grades 4-5 Division:

Team #25 (Purple Pineapples)
2016: Taking Flight Build a glider to deliver supplies to a remote location. Grades 4-5
Judges’ Choice: Amazing Quality Assurance
Team #297 (Creative Cats)
 Grades 4-5 Division:

Team #297 (Creative Cats)
2015: Building Excitement: Seismic Engineering in Action Build an earthquake-safe structure.
2014: Harnessing the Wind Harness the wind to move water to the people who need it.
 Grades 5-6
Best Overall 2nd Place
Team #15 (FOuR the WINdz)
 Grades 5-6 Division:

Team #15 (FOuR the WINdz)
2013: Asteroids Rock! Create a solution to safely deploy scientific instruments from a landed spacecraft to three areas on an asteroid.
 Grades 5-6
Best Engineering Journal 2nd Place
Team #3 (3 Minutes or Less)
 Grades 5-6 Division:

Team #3 (3 Minutes or Less)
2012: Shake, Rattle and Rescue Create a solution to help earthquake survivors stranded after a bridge collapse.
2011: The Great Pacific Gyre Design and build a device to collect trash from the ocean without harming marine life.
2010: International Space Station Mission: Space Junk Design and build a solution that can help rid the universe of space junk by getting an inoperative satellite to burn up upon re-entry.
2009: Explore the Volcano Create a device that can deliver a payload of up to six geological instruments (aka ping-pong balls) to the top of a volcano in three minutes.
2008: Water Works Create a device to deliver water to a tank in a village on a hill above the river. There is no electricity in the village; only the flow of the river can be used to generate power.
2007: Mars Crater Mission Design, build and operate an unmanned device that can survive a 12-foot drop into a Martian crater and then successfully exit the crater by ascending a 6-foot wall.
2006: Fight the Flood Design, build and operate an innovative improvement to current sandbag-filling solutions.
2005: Battle the Blaze Design, build and operate a device that can retrieve water (one water balloon) from a lake and deliver it to a fire (a designated target) on the top of a ridge.
2004: Pick a Pike Design, build and operate a device that can find and collect one northern pike fish from Lake Davis and place the fish within a collection area on shore.
2003: Canopy Climb Design, build and operate a device that can climb vertically up a 15.5-foot-long rope and reach the top of our make-believe rainforest canopy to retrieve a ping pong ball.
2002: Pass the Torch Design, build and operate a device that will pick up, move and set down a make-believe torch.
2001: Martian Crater Escape Design, build and operate a device that will climb the wall of a simulated crater on Mars.
2000: High Adventure in Space: Mission to Power Up a Satellite Design, build and operate a device that will repair a drifting satellite that is slowly rotating in space by inserting a battery to restore its power.
1999: Rescue at Sea Design, build and operate a device to reach the top of a simulated swaying boat mast, trigger a sensor and safely return to the base of the mast.
1998: Climb an Elevated Bridge Cable and Prevent a Major Disaster Design a device that simulates an inspection mechanism that can traverse the bridge cable between two upright supports.
1997: Land a Robotic Rover on Mars and Escape from an Ancient Crater Design a robotic lander/rover that can accurately and safely crash-land onto an ancient Martian flood plain when released from high above the planet’s surface.
1996: Climb a Treacherous Passageway Inside an Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Design a device that ascends a passageway, negotiates various obstacles on the track, and successfully reaches the top within three minutes. The ramp or track simulates the interior or an ancient Egyptian pyramid burial site with steep long passageways and obstacles.
1995: Take the Climb Design a lightweight, small rope-climbing device that can quickly ascend and descend a 15-foot rope simulating a trip to the tall rainforest tree canopy.
1994: Under-Ice Salvage Mission in Antarctica: A Nuclear Fishin’ Impossible Help NASA retrieve a canister of nuclear waste from the bottom of an ice-covered Antarctic lake, directly below a large hole in the ice.
1993: Satellite Model Design, build and operate a device that will repair a drifting satellite that is slowly rotating in space by inserting a battery to restore its power.
1992: Martian Motion Design, build and operate a Rover vehicle that can operate on a simulated Mars surface, move from landing site through rough terrain, collect a Mars rock sample and return and deposit the sample back at the landing site.
1991: Escape from Valles Marineris on Mars The challenge: Design, build and operate a Mars Rover to escape a difficult situation, jump a gap, resist soft sand and climb steep walls.
1990: Analysis of Martian Soil and Steep Incline Martian Terrain Design, build and operate a Mars Rover that will analyze and sort soil and then climb a steep incline.
1989: Mars Traction Problem Design, build and operate a device that will find traction through dense surface material on Mars.
1988: Mars Crater Hole Problem Design, build and operate a device that will travel across large gaps in Martian terrain.