Your Challenge
Everyone knows how creative you are — so you’ve been chosen to design a brand-new character for the latest comic book. But that’s not all… your character needs its own action figure! And it has to be able to do something cool!
This week, your challenge is to create an action figure that can do something — anything! Can your superhero jump like a frog? Spin? Flip? You get the idea — just make sure it moves or does something.
Important Challenge Dates:
July 20 | Video entries due by 9pm.
July 21-22 | Voting is open. Be sure to vote for all of your favorite videos!
July 22 | Winners announced around 8pm
July 23 | Week 5 Challenge released
For more information about contest entry and voting, click here.
Complete the Challenge.
You have until July 20 at 9pm ET to work on your challenge and submit your solution. See our full contest rules to learn what you can and cannot do.
Get the same support that participants in our in-person workshops receive by completing our weekly online STEM course.
Make a video showing your solution.
Try to keep your video under 90-seconds long and include the following:
• The name of your solution.
• How does it work?
• What materials did you use?
• Did you have to overcome any problems?
• What was the biggest lesson you learned?
You can see tips to creating great entry videos here.
EPIC FAIL! Failure is an important part of the engineering and invention process. It’s how we learn and move forward. Be proud of your failures and show them off. If you capture a failed solution attempt on video, be sure to enter it separately into the Epic Fail contest category. The most impressive failure of the week will win a prize!
Your video will be visible to anyone with an internet connection, so it’s important to protect your privacy and stay safe. See our guidelines for more information.
Enter the contest by 9:00pm ET on July 20.
Ask a parent to upload your video to our website using our online entry form.
All contest and epic fail entries will receive 1 point for our big end-of-the-summer prize drawing!
You can earn bonus points for:
- Completing our Online STEM Class – 1 point
- Getting a friend to participate in their first ever Invent the Summer challenge
(make sure they give you credit) – 5 points - Completing 3 challenges in a row – 3 points
- Completing 5 challenges – 5 points
- Completing ALL 8 challenges – 5 points
View other solutions and VOTE!
You can see all the solutions and vote for your favorites from 12:00pm ET on Monday, July 21 until 3:00pm ET on Tuesday, July 22. See our voting rules for more information.
Winners announced at around 8:00pm on July 22!
Audience Choice Award: Goes to the solution with the most votes.
Editor’s Choice Award: Selected by the Junior Board of Engineers. Solutions will be
judged on originality, execution and presentation.
Epic Fail Award: Given to the most impressive failure of the week. Selected by the Junior Board of Engineers.
Winners receive their choice of an Invent the Summer t-shirt, notebook, or drawstring bag.
