Your Challenge
Did you know that cars didn’t have to include seatbelts until 1968? Or that airbags weren’t required until 1998? Crazy, right? Engineers made cars safer by testing again and again with… crash test dummies!
This week your challenge is to design and build a vehicle that keeps your crash test dummy safe in a crash. But there’s a twist — You must use our three mystery box items to complete your design. The items are a bottle cap, a paper clip, and a rubber band!
Important Challenge Dates:
July 27 | Video entries due by 9pm.
July 28-29 | Voting is open. Be sure to vote for all of your favorite videos!
July 29 | Winners announced around 8pm
July 30 | Week 6 Challenge released
For more information about contest entry and voting, click here.
Complete the Challenge.
You have until July 27 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 27.
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 28 until 3:00pm ET on Tuesday, July 29. See our voting rules for more information.
Winners announced at around 8:00pm on July 29!
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.
