About the Mystery Challenge
Join us for the 2025 Mystery Challenge! Youth will work collaboratively within their team and under pressure to accomplish an engineering design challenge revealed on the day of the event. No preparation required!
Challenge Objectives
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Youth learn how to work under pressure.
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Youth will put their engineering skills to the test.
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Youth communicate effectively and contribute to the group effort.
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Youth demonstrate their STEM knowledge.
Challenge Rules
Teams of 2-4 youth
Each team participating must have a minimum of two and a maximum of four youth to be eligible to compete.
Age Divisions | Junior (9-13 years) | Senior (14-18 years)
Age is calculated as of January 1, 2025. In teams with youth of multiple age divisions, the age of the oldest youth on that team will determine the age division in which the team will compete.
Materials | Specifications | Time
Youth will be provided materials for a timed challenge that will be revealed on the day of the competition. The youth will only need to bring their knowledge of STEM, the Engineering Design Process, and teamwork skills. They will have a set amount of time to design, implement, and test their design prior to the judged event.
Judging
Metric | Placing | Tie Breaker
Youth will be judged on their ability to solve the problem presented to them (criteria based on outcome metric related to the specific challenge), use of the engineering design process, sportsmanship, and leadership & teamwork.
Helpful Resources
Contact Information
If you have any questions, please reach out to Challenge Facilitator, Mark Cathcart at cmcathc@clemson.edu.
