You may have noticed some excitement in the air as students across the state begin training to compete in TAME’s Divisional STEM Competitions. Top achieving students at these events qualify for one of 300 invitations to the TAME State Competition, hosted this May 2nd at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas.
“I really enjoyed the team design challenge,” wrote a TAME senior after the 2012 State Competition. “It was a great level of difficulty and required us to really have to work together. It was also a great way to meet other students from different areas that were a variety of ages.”
Divisional Competitions around Texas allow students to test themselves in math, science, and the popular engineering design challenges. In these, students are grouped together with peers from a variety of ages and backgrounds and collaborate to solve a real-world engineering problem, often with surprising results. (Visit TAME’s Engineering Activity board on Pinterest to practice for design challenges at home!)
Ribbons and medals showcase the students’ achievements, but the real prize comes from the new experience and chance to meet other like-minded students and mentors from professional fields.
“The competition was a blast,” says Rachel, a TAME Alumni who went on to pursue a college degree in biochemistry. She first qualified to go to the TAME State Competition in 8th grade, and remembers the experience clearly. “It was well-organized and fun. I took tests in biology and physics, and then there was a group project where we had to simulate the most efficient windmill. It turned out to be an inertia formula. We didn’t win that time, but it was still really cool to work on it. We also got to tour a jet factory and listen to the people who worked there.”
TAME Divisional and State STEM Competitions are all free for students to attend. TAME students in grades 6 – 12 who are active members of a registered TAME club can compete in a Divisional competition. Practice tests, annual t-shirt contest, and more information are available here. To sign up for a Divisional Competition, club members can contact one of the organizers or Chairs listed on their Chapter pages.
“I’ve been involved in the Math and Science competitions for a number of years now, both on a regional and a statewide level,” says former TAME Board Member and ConocoPhillips engineer Kyle Ray. “These kids definitely have a passion for knowledge and I could see them light up at the challenges they were able to face.”
2015 TAME Divisional Math and Science Competitions
Amarillo – January 31 at Amarillo College
Capital Area – January 31 at the University of Texas at Austin
Dallas – January 31 at Tarrant County Community College
Fort Worth – January 24 at Richland High School
Golden Triangle (Beaumont) – February 7 at Lamar University
Gulf Coast (Houston) – January 31 at Pershing Middle School
San Angelo – February 28 at in the Vincent Nursing-Physical Science Building at ASU
San Antonio – February 28 at St. Philip’s College, Southwest Campus.
South Plains (Lubbock) – January 17 at Texas Tech University
West Texas (Odessa, Presidio) – February 7 at Odessa College
Wichita Falls – February 28, location TBA
