if you aren't busy Saturday, April 30th, go check out the Tech Challenge in San Jose

[Clint Johns]

http://techchallenge.thetech.org/schedule.cfm

This Year's Challenge

Create a device that can collect plastic from the ocean without harming marine life. 

Rules

• Teams can have 2-6 members.
• Each team's unassembled device must fit into a 4 X 4 X 4 foot box.
• Teams then have 2 minutes to assemble their device.
• The goal is to remove 2 (two) 2-liter bottles and 3 (three) bottle caps from the test rig in 3 minutes or less.

Learn more about the rules.

Test Rig

Your device must remove plastic from a model called a test rig. Like the real Pacific Gyre, the test rig contains both plastic trash and marine life (or, at least, models of plants and fish). It does not have water in it. You will have three minutes to remove three bottle caps and two bottles from the test rig.

Learn more about the test rig.

Judging Criteria

Judges will award points for the following:

• Device Performance-How much plastic did your device remove? Did it harm any sea life?
• Engineering Process and Journal-How well did your team document its ideas and efforts? How well did you follow the engineering design process?
• Style and Presentation-How creative were your costumes? How clear and concise were your explanations?
• Other categories to be determined on event day, such as teamwork.