Tiger Science Challenge | National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Overview

RIT/NTID is proud to present an all-new version of our popular Virtual Science Fair series. Tiger Science Challenge is a new approach to science that will get you thinking! Each semester, RIT/NTID will release a challenge for middle school deaf and hard-of-hearing students to conquer. These challenges are no easy feat, and each one requires some knowledge of science concepts, a little bit of patience, and some hard work.

Are you up to the challenge? We’ve just released our newest one for fall 2023: the Spaghetti and Marshmallow Tower! Read on to find out how to conquer this Tiger Science Challenge!

The Challenge – Fall 2023

On October 1, 2023, the Spaghetti and Marshmallow Tower Challenge opens!

The Challenge: Design and construct a freestanding tower using only noodles and marshmallows as building materials.

Students must construct their towers with dry spaghetti noodles and regular sized marshmallows (jumbo marshmallows are not permitted).

To register for the challenge, participants must be a 6^th, 7^th, or 8^th grade deaf or hard-of-hearing student. Upon registering for the challenge, students will receive a package in the mail with building materials.

Registration for the Spaghetti and Marshmallow Tower Challenge will end on October 17, 2023. This gives our team enough time to ship supplies to you before the October 27 submission deadline.

The Challenge Rules

The Spaghetti and Marshmallow Tower Challenge is simple and straightforward, but there’s a lot of room for creativity!

Objective

Build a freestanding tower that meets one of two criteria:

Tallest

The tower that stands the tallest without falling

To qualify for this category, your tower will need to stay upright and a measurement of the tower must be clearly visible in the submission.

Instructions to measure your tower will be available on October 2, 2023.

To beat this challenge, your tower design needs to have a strong base that can support a lot of height.

Most Creative

The tower with the most unique design

To qualify for this category, you could build a tower with an intricate design, an optical illusion, or simply build something that looks cool!

To beat this challenge, your tower design will need to be creative and artistic.

Materials

Participants are only allowed to use uncooked spaghetti sticks and regular sized marshmallows as building materials.

Photo Requirements

Along with your video submission, you must include at least 5 progress pictures of you building your tower. These photos are required to show proof of you building your tower.

Video Submission

Videos must be no longer than 5 minutes and include the following information:

Introduction
1. Your name
2. Which school you attend
3. What grade you are in
Design
1. Describe your design and which category you are submitting your tower to
Construction
1. Describe how you built your tower
2. Describe your challenges with building your tower
3. Describe any other information about your tower
Tower
1. Show the tower in a well-lit environment and a plain background

Instructions for submitting your video to YouTube

Video must be unlisted.
- To upload a video and make it unlisted:
  - Sign into or create your YouTube account.
  - Go to your My Channel Page.
  - Upload a video by clicking on “create a video” in the upper right banner, and then upload video.
  - Change the setting to upload the video as unlisted and select the video.
  - Click Done to confirm.
  - Copy and paste the unlisted link for submission.
- To edit a video and make it unlisted:
  - Go to the Video Manager and click on the video.
  - Go to Edit. Under Basic information, you’ll see the option to mark your video as unlisted, public, or private.
  - Select unlisted.
  - Copy the video URL (found to the right of the video in Video Manager under video information).
- Copy and paste the unlisted link for submission.
The title of your video must include your project title and your first and last name.

When complete, send the URL of your video to TSCinfo@rit.edu along with your full name, grade level, school, and contact information.

Prizes

The Tiger Science Challenge will feature prizes for the top submissions for each category! Winners will be judged on creativity, construction, and design. After the submission deadline, our Science and Engineering departments will review each and every video, and announce the winners after they have been chosen.

2023 Tiger Science Challenge Prizes

The top three winners for both categories will win a full program scholarship to our TechTigers program. TechTigers is a week-long summer program for deaf and hard-of-hearing middle school students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math. Travel costs to the program are included in the prizes.
In addition to this prize, the top three winners will also receive the following prizes:

First Place

iPad Mini

Second Place

Nintendo Switch Lite with Dr. Kawashima Brain Training game

Third Place

$50 Amazon gift card

Registration Information

Tiger Science Challenge Participation Requirements

To be eligible to enter, you must be in 6^th, 7^th, or 8^th grade as of fall 2023. The Tiger Science Challenge is open only to deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Registration

To register for this event, visit our registration page and select the Tiger Science Challenge activity.

You must upload your project to YouTube, and email the link to TSCinfo@rit.edu.

Deadlines

The deadline for this fall’s Tiger Science Challenge is October 27, 2023. For questions and inquiries about the challenge, contact NTID Outreach at TSCinfo@rit.edu.