PITTSBURGH – The Design Lives Here competition is an exciting opportunity for students in grades 5 through -8 to participate in hands-on engineering and invention activities. Taking place at WQED’s Fred Rogers Studio on Thursday, April 13 from 10am-2pm, this competition is part of a broader initiative that aims to equip teachers and students to engage in engineering activities throughout the entire semester, both in school and afterschool programs. Other regional competitions are also being held at Clarion Area Elementary School, Baldwin-Whitehall Middle School, Laurel Highlands Middle School and area libraries.
In a day-long competition, students will be grouped into teams across schools and given three hands-on/minds-on engineering challenge activities. Engineering mentors will assist students as they address STEM challenges. In Paddle Power, students will build a boat that paddles itself across a container of water using a rubber band as its power source. In Speedy Shelter, students are tasked with designing a shelter using every day materials. In Zip Line, students must design and build something that can carry a Ping-Pong ball from the top of a zip line string to the bottom in four seconds.
Along with the on-site engineering challenges, the Design Lives Here competition also features the Invention Challenge, which students must complete before attending the event. To participate, students must identify a problem within one of seven invention categories, including kitchen/culinary, outdoors, pets, sports/hobbies, non-electronic toys, transportation vehicles and fashion wearables. They must then submit a video solution in advance. The winners of the Invention Challenge will be announced on the day of the competition.
Schools Participating at WQED:
- Canonsburg Middle School
- Deer Lakes Middle School
- Francis McClure Elementary School
- Franklin Regional Middle School
- Independence Middle School
- Immaculate Conception Parish School
- Moon Middle School
- Roy Hunt Elementary School
- Stewart Elementary
- Trinity Middle School
Design Lives Here is a student outreach program inspired by the PBS show “Design Squad Nation,” which aims to inspire the next generation of engineers. For the past fourteen years, WQED has engaged thousands of middle school students through this program, using materials and challenges from “Design Squad Nation” episodes, interactive resources and local engineering mentors
The 2022 – 2023 Design Lives Here initiative is a project of WQED Multimedia, with major underwriting by Howmet Aerospace Foundation, MSA, PPG and PPG Foundation, and additional support from ATI, Mastech Digital, University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh, ANSYS, HATCH, Gateway Engineers, McKim & Creed, and founding partner the Engineers’ Society of Western PA.
All Participating Schools:
- Baldwin-Whitehall School District
- Brookville Area Junior/Senior high school
- Canon McMillian SD Cecil Intermediate
- Canonsburg Middle School
- Clarion Area Elementary School
- Corry Area Middle School
- Deer Lakes Middle School
- Francis McClure Elementary School
- Franklin Regional Middle School
- Independence Middle School
- Immaculate Conception Parish School
- J.E. Harrison Education Center
- Laurel Highlands Middle School
- Marshall Elementary – North Allegheny School District
- Moon Middle School
- Pittsburgh Schiller STEAM Academy
- Roy Hunt Elementary School
- Stewart Elementary
- Sto Rox Upper Elementary- afterschool
- Summersville Middle School
- Trinity Middle School
Participating Libraries:
- Chartiers-Houston Community Library
- Clairton Public Library
- Moon Township Public Library
- Peters Township Public Library
About WQED
WQED was an experiment in educational community-supported television that was the forerunner to PBS. Today, WQED is a multimedia powerhouse that is as much a part of Pittsburgh as the three rivers. WQED is WQED-TV (PBS); WQED World; WQED Create; WQED Showcase; WQED PBS KIDS Channel; Classical WQED-FM 89.3/Pittsburgh; Classical WQEJ-FM 89.7/Johnstown; the Pittsburgh Concert Channel at WQED-HD2 (89.3-2FM) and online; streaming and apps, and WQED Interactive.
WQED is a premier leader in broadcast and digital video production, producing socially relevant, historical, arts, entertainment and educational programming resources. WQED’s Learning Neighborhood model creates an education continuum dedicated to serving our youngest neighbors through Ready To Learn programming, while engaging high school students learning filmmaking and exploring employment opportunities through the WQED Film Academy.
About The Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania
The Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania (ESWP) has provided a forum for the professional development and social interaction of its members for more than a century. Headquartered in an historic landmark building and club facility, the ESWP is chartered to advance the professions of engineering, architecture and applied sciences through technical activities, public services participation and social organizations. It also supports the needs of industries, communities and government in Western Pennsylvania. The ESWP is a non-profit organization with more than 950 members representing more than 400 local, national and global firms. Learn more about ESWP and our other STEM initiatives at www.eswp.com