Governor's STEM Competition

  • The Governor’s STEM Competition challenges student teams from across the state to research, design, and present a device or project that can make the quality of life better for Pennsylvanians by accomplishing a series of practical tasks that can fulfill real-world needs.

    The competition is open to students in grades 9 through 12 who attend a public, charter, or private school, a career and technical education center, or a student being homeschooled in Pennsylvania.

    Teams can include up to five students and they must work under the guidance of an approved mentor.

  • THE 2022 THEME IS “IMPROVING PENNSYLVANIA THROUGH STEM.”

    OVERVIEW

    The Governor’s STEM Competition will be held virtually in April 2022.

    There will not be a regional qualifying competition this school year.
    There will be one competition (the state competition) and it will be held in a hybrid format for 2023.

      • There are two divisions for the 2022-2023 state competition that will consist of:
        • Division 1: Those who competed in the STATE COMPETITION in the last 5 years
        • Division 2: Those who have not competed in the STATE COMPETITION in the last 5 years
      • The state team is using the PIL regions to break teams out and encourage IU collaboration to support teams that fall under each PIL region. Direct support will come from the regional level IU point of contact.
      • The stipend amount to be distributed to each team will be $600.
        • Funding will be distributed as soon as possible.
      • Breakdown of a timeline of the competition.
      • Breakdown of the virtual presentation options that teams may engage in.
      • The state competition rubric is available below. The media release form is available under “Registration” on the Advisors/Students section of this website.
      • Please review the above expectations carefully with student participants. If a team is unable to move forward with the competition, please notify our team no later than December 15, 2022 at [email protected]

      The competition will require a written and video submission that will be evaluated by a panel of judges. 

      • Written Proposal: Minimum 500, Maximum 2,000-word document submitted no later than March 6, 2023.
      • Video Presentation: 10-minute minimum, 20-minute maximum presentation recorded and submitted no later than March 6, 2023.

     

    STATE RUBRIC

     

    AWARDS

    At the completion of the competition, Grand Champion, First Runner Up, Second Runner Up and Third Runner Up teams will be recognized for each division.

    Three special awards have been developed to honor contributions made to the Commonwealth that will impact the medical, sustainability, and survivability needs of all citizens of Pennsylvania. Each project has been placed into one of three categories (medical, sustainability, survivability) based on their project description submitted to the STEM team. 

  • CONTEST CONTACT INFORMATION

    Mr. Christopher Cherny
    Assistant Director for Personnel Services – Educational Consultants, PaTTAN
    [email protected]

    [email protected]

    Mrs. Tara Russo
    Educational Consultant, PaTTAN
    [email protected]

    CIU10 CONTACT INFORMATION

    Dr. Dawn Hayes
    Director of Curriculum & Innovation
    [email protected]

  • IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

    September 6, 2022
    Registration opens.

    November 23, 2022
    Deadline for teacher advisor to register (coming soon) via the competition website, make commitment for school’s participation, and submit information on students/team members for the competition.

    Now through March 6, 2023
    Teams will be working on their written proposal and video presentation. Email [email protected] if you have any questions regarding the 2023 Governor’s STEM Competition. Written proposal and video presentations will be due no later than Monday, March 6 at 9:00pm.

    Submit your Written Proposal (Coming Soon)

    Submit your Video Submission (Coming Soon)

    March 6, 2023-March 20, 2023
    Judging will take place during this time period. The top 20 teams will be notified that their project will advance to the final round of judging, starting on March 20, 2023. The finals will be held at PaTTAN Harrisburg on April 19, 2023. Teams who have been invited can start the process of getting approved for traveling to PaTTAN Harrisburg for the event.

    Note: Three special awards have been developed to honor contributions made to the Commonwealth that may potentially impact the medical, sustainability, and survivability needs of all citizens of Pennsylvania. Each project has been placed into one of three categories (medical, sustainability, survivability) based on the team’s project.

    March 20, 2023-April 19, 2023

    Teams that are moving forward to the state competition can begin working on their onsite presentation, which will take place at PaTTAN Harrisburg on April 19, 2023.

    April 19, 2023

    The State Competition will be held at PaTTAN Harrisburg on April 19, 2023.  Each team will be given an opportunity to present their project in person to the judges for additional points given to their current score. More details will be released at a later date. The top 20 teams will present an overview of their project and the projects will be viewed and scored by all state competition judges. These projects will be given the title of Grand Champion (1st place), First Runner Up (2nd place), Second Runner Up (3rd place), and Third Runner Up (4th place).