AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering is pleased to announce that the TAME Board has approved the 2018 State STEM Competition!

Every year, TAME brings together students to compete and celebrate achievement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). During a STEM Competition, students participate in both a math and a science test, and then team up to solve real-world engineering problems in a timed Engineering Design Challenge. This announcement comes as part of a two-year pilot project for TAME’s STEM Competitions, developed in response to a number of logistical challenges. Read more about the decision-making process and refinements to TAME programs here. 

 

Details about upcoming 2018 State STEM Competition

• This year’s State STEM Competition, presented by Raytheon, will be held in the Dallas/Fort Worth area on Saturday, April 28th 2018.
• Students will qualify to attend the event based on performance at the Divisional STEM Competitions. (The Divisional schedule is available here as our volunteer chapter leadership work on coordinating logistics and announce dates and venues.)

• The winning team from the Engineering Design Challenge at competitions with more than 50 student participants will automatically qualify to attend the state competition.

  All top-scoring students from each grade level, known as the Ace Award Winners, will also automatically qualify to attend. The top-scorer for each grade will be determined by adding students’ scores in the math and science tests at the Divisional Competition. Students will be recognized for their performance in each test at the Divisional Competitions, but combined scores will be used to auto-select attendees to advance to State.

• Students will travel to the competition on Friday, April 27th 2018 and will be hosted at a unique outdoor education camp and retreat center. 
• Students will be assigned a single-bunk, in a climate controlled, dormitory-style cabin that sleeps 14 students. Chaperones and other adult volunteers will also be housed at the camp and will have single beds in shared rooms. Adults and students will have separate accommodations, and all dormitories have attached bathrooms and showers.
• All event-related activities including testing and the Engineering Design Challenge will be held at the camp, which is wheelchair accessible. Entertainment, group activities, and catered meals will all be provided on-site.
• For the first time, ALL students will stay on-site and will participate in activities on Friday night. This includes students and chaperones from the local Dallas and Fort Worth Chapters.

 

We are looking forward to a fun, inclusive weekend at the camp where participants can enjoy more time as part of the TAME community. Please contact the TAME State Office at programs@tame.org if you have any questions specifically about this arrangement.

In other efforts to enhance the TAME experience, we have worked with UIL test writers to develop comprehensive tests that will measure student understanding of fundamental science and math topics. All middle school students (grades 6 – 8) will take the Middle School Math Test and the Middle School Science Test, while all high school students (grades 9 – 12) will take the High School Math Test and the High School Science Test.

We are thankful to TAME teachers who have received the practice tests (download tests for free here) and who have been providing us with feedback on test structure and content.

TAME is thrilled to be able to offer this comprehensive, carefully curated event for students across Texas. We know what the TAME community and the State STEM Competition experience means to all our students, educators, volunteers, and partners, and we are so glad to offer it again this year. We are looking forward to another opportunity to learn, explore, and compete together!

 Want to volunteer in planning local and statewide TAME events? Visit our Get Involved page to see how you can help inspire Texas students with STEM.