2026 STEM Challenges

Week 1 Challenge: Build a Wind-Powered Vehicle

Winner: Malek M

Understanding how to harness natural forces is a key part of engineering a sustainable future. This week, we challenge you to step into the shoes of a mechanical engineer and build a small, wind-driven vehicle using only recycled materials. Your goal is to design a device that can travel across a flat surface using nothing but the air currents from a fan!

Materials:

• Recycled materials (cardboard, plastic bottles, bottle caps, straws, skewers, etc.)
• Scissors (with adult supervision)
• Glue, tape, or blue-tack
• A household fan or hairdryer (to test your vehicle)

Here is your challenge:

• Do some quick research on wind energy, sails, and aerodynamics to see how wind can be converted into motion.
• Gather your recycled materials and design a chassis, wheels, axles, and a sail or turbine system for your vehicle.
• Assemble your vehicle. Remember to think about friction. How can you make sure your wheels spin smoothly?
• Test your vehicle in front of a fan. Adjust your sail angle, vehicle weight, or wheel alignment to get the maximum speed or distance.
• Take a photo or a short video of your vehicle in action.

What to submit:

• A photo or video your wind-powered vehicle in action.
• A short written explanation or a video (1 minute max) describing your design choices, what materials you used, and how you modified your vehicle to make it move further or faster.
• Submit your work here

Submissions will be judged based on:

• Photo 
• Creativity and resourcefulness in using recycled materials.
• Functionality – does the vehicle successfully move forward using only wind power?
• Presentation – clear text/photo/video and an engaging explanation of your process.

The week one challenge submission closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 9th August AEST.

When will the winners be announced The winner will be announced on Tuesday 11th August. More than one winner may be selected. The winning entry will be posted to our Facebook, Instagram and on the website. The winner will be notified by email. Other submissions may be included in an Instagram story, if you don't want your photo included, please let us know when you submit it.

Competition rules Remember, this is all about your creativity and skills, so no sneaky copy-pasting from Google image searches is allowed. Please let us know if you have any questions about the challenge or what you are required to do. You can contact us at science@anu.edu.au.

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Week 2 Challenge: Build a Desalination System

Access to clean drinking water is one of the world's greatest environmental challenges. Environmental scientists and engineers look to nature to find solutions, often copying the natural water cycle. This week, your challenge is to create a solar-powered water desalination system using simple household items to purify "saltwater" through evaporation and condensation.

Materials:

• One large bowl
• One smaller cup or bowl (that sits completely inside the large bowl and is shorter than its rim)
• Plastic wrap/ cling film
• A small weight (like a clean rock)
• Water 
• Salt

Here is your challenge:

• Measure the warm water before you pour into the large bowl and record the measurement.
• Create your "ocean water" by mixing warm water and a few tablespoons of salt in your large bowl (give it a taste to make sure it's salty!). 
• Place the empty, smaller cup right in the centre of the large bowl. Make sure no saltwater splashes inside it.
• Cover the large bowl tightly with plastic wrap and seal the edges. Place your small weight on top of the plastic wrap, directly over the centre cup, creating a slight downward slope.
• Place your setup in a bright, sunny spot outside for a few hours.
• Watch how the sun evaporates the water, leaving the salt behind, and how condensation forms on the plastic wrap and drips down into your central cup.
• Take a photo of your desalination setup and the clean water you collected.
• Measure how much water is in the cup - how does it compare to the amount of water you started with? How much water would you need to desalinate for a whole day of drinking water?

What to submit:

• A photo of you with your solar desalination system.
• A short written explanation describing the science behind your system. Explain how evaporation and condensation helped purify the water, and how much fresh water you managed to collect, including your measurements.
• Submit your work here

Submissions will be judged based on:

• Photo includes you and your experimental setup.
• Scientific understanding: clarity in explaining how the water cycle principles were applied.
• Success of the experiment: clear evidence of condensation and collected fresh water.
• Presentation

The week 2 challenge submission closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 16th August AEST.

When will the winners be announced The winner will be announced on Tuesday 18th August. More than one winner may be selected. The winning entry will be posted to our Facebook, Instagram and on the website. The winner will be notified by email. Other submissions may be included in an Instagram story, if you don't want your photo included, please let us know when you submit it.

Competition rules Remember, this is all about your creativity and skills, so no sneaky copy-pasting from Google image searches is allowed! Let's keep it fun, fair, and full of originality. Please let us know if you have any questions about the challenge or what you are required to do. You can contact us at science@anu.edu.au.

The challenge will appear here on 18 August 2026.

The challenge will appear here on 25 August 2026.