Tiger Science Challenge

 The Tiger Science Challenge will not be offered this spring. The next series of contests will be offered in fall 2025.

Overview

Ignite Your Curiosity with the Tiger Science Challenge!

Brainstorm and conquer each exciting challenge and win a big prize! Every semester, RIT/NTID presents a new science challenge for middle school deaf and hard-of-hearing students. These tasks demand a solid grasp of science concepts, a dose of patience, and some hard work.

Do you have what it takes to beat the challenge? Dive in and prove your skills!

The Challenge – Fall 2024

Ready to test your creativity and engineering prowess? The Egg Drop Challenge is here! Design and build the ultimate egg-saving device to conquer one of two categories: "The Most Creative" or "The Tallest Drop." Whether you’re crafting a funky, out-of-this-world contraption or you’re determined to set a record with the highest drop, your mission is simple—protect that egg! Do you have what it takes to beat the competition and save the yolk? Let’s find out!

The Challenge Rules

Objective

Develop a device that will protect a raw egg being dropped from height. There are two categories participants can choose to compete in: Tallest Drop and Most Creative.

Tallest Drop

The objective for this category is to have your egg survive a drop from the highest height! The top three contestants whose eggs survive the highest heights win a prize.

  • Design a device that will protect an egg from cracking or breaking on impact.
  • The device must be released completely when dropped and must touch the ground.
  • The device may not have any air-resistance mechanisms such as a parachute.
  • After the device is dropped, contestants must show their egg on camera to verify the state of their egg (cracked or uncracked).
  • The drop must be higher than 20 feet above the ground - the higher they are, the better chance you have of winning!

Most Creative

The objective for this category is to design an egg-saving device that combines a creative touch with top-notch egg security.

  • Design a device that will protect an egg from cracking or breaking on impact.
  • The device must be released completely when dropped and must touch the ground.
  • The device may not have any air-resistance mechanisms such as a parachute.
  • After the device is dropped, contestants must show their egg on camera to verify the state of their egg (cracked or uncracked).
  • You may showcase any cool features or snazzy creations that you’ve added to your device. You get bonus points for more creativity!
  • The drop must be 20 feet above the ground. 

Materials

Students are responsible for supplying their own materials to create their device. You may use whatever you’d like to create your device - here are some recommended supplies to start:

  • Egg Cartons
  • Sponges
  • Tape
  • Rubber bands
  • Straws
  • Plastic cups
  • Popsicle sticks
  • Glue

Photo Requirements

Along with your video submission, you must include at least 5 progress pictures of you building your device. These photos are required to show proof of you building your device. You may put these photos in a Word document or PDF file and include them in your submission.

Video Requirements

In order to ensure that your submission is legitimate, you are required to record a continuous, unedited video of yourself doing the following: 

  • Placing the egg inside your device.
  • Dropping the egg from height.
    • The measurement of the height of drop must be shown in the video. 
  • Showing the egg (broken or unbroken) after the drop.

Here are some suggestions for places that provides a safe height to drop your egg from:

  • Stadium bleachers
  • Parking garages
  • School buildings

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 offer awards to the top entries in every category! Judging criteria include creativity, craftsmanship, and design. Following the submission deadline, our Science and Engineering teams will meticulously evaluate each video and announce the selected winners.

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

Third Place: $50 Amazon gift card

Registration Information

Tiger Science Challenge Participation Requirements

To be eligible to enter, you must be in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade as of fall 2024. The Tiger Science Challenge is open only to deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Registration

To register for this event, email us at TSCinfo@rit.edu and let us know you wish to participate. If you are a teacher registering a group of students, email the Tiger Science Challenge team at TSCinfo@rit.edu to receive a group registration link.

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

The deadline to submit your Egg Drop project is 11:59 p.m. on November 15, 2024.

Deadlines

The deadline for the fall 2024 Tiger Science Challenge is November 15, 2024. All materials must be submitted no later than 11:59pm.

For questions and inquiries about the challenge, contact NTID Outreach at TSCinfo@rit.edu.