THEMES AND PROBLEMS
MIDDLE SCHOOL
When a decision is made by a member to compete in an event, it is imperative that the member thoroughly read and understand the rules, regulations, procedures, and evaluation criteria for the chosen event(s). National TSA is responsible for addressing mistakes or discrepancies in the competitive event guides and accomplishes this through competition updates on the TSA website. National TSA is not responsible for interpreting, advising, or suggesting ways that a member might develop a viable response or solution to a competitive event challenge.
- Microcontroller Design
- Off the Grid
- Prepared Speech
- Promotional Marketing
- Robotics
- STEM Animation
- Structural Engineering
- Website Design
Microcontroller Design
Theme: Musical Instrument
Off the Grid
Design Brief: Water Collection in Kenya
Family Overview: Maya and her family live in a rural village in Kenya. The family consists of Maya (the mother), her husband, and three children. They live in a small, single-story dwelling home made from mud bricks, with a thatched roof. The house has two bedrooms, a living room, and a small kitchen. The family has limited access to running water, and the only available water source is a small, seasonal river a 30-minute walk away. During the dry season, this river often dries up, and Maya must buy water from a nearby vendor; this can be expensive and unreliable.
Challenge: Maya’s family needs a sustainable off-grid solution to collect and store water. The current system involves carrying water from the river during the rainy season and relying on expensive water deliveries during the dry season. Your task is to optimize the family’s water collection and storage system, using natural resources like rainwater and local materials.
Requirements:
- The system must provide enough clean water for the family’s daily needs, including drinking, cooking, and bathing.
- The system should make use of rainwater harvesting to reduce reliance on external water sources.
- The water storage system must be designed to handle both the rainy season and the dry season.
- The system should include a basic filtration solution to ensure the water is safe for drinking.
- The design must be cost-effective and use local materials when possible.
Budget: Your team has a budget of $1,500 to develop and implement the water collection and storage system. This budget must cover materials for rainwater collection, filtration, storage tanks, and installation.
Prepared Speech
2026 National Conference Theme: “Unity Through Community”
Promotional Marketing
Theme: Your TSA chapter is hosting a family-friendly game night to raise funds to cover costs for attendance at upcoming conferences. The event will include board games, trivia rounds, and student-led challenges.
For the competition, participants must use the following information:
- Printable: Promotional graphic to be used for social media promotion of the event
- Wearable: Participant’s choice of a wearable design
- Digital Signage: Auto-advancing slides with event schedule and donation goals
Robotics
STEM Animation
Theme: Smart Cities: Technology in Urban Design
Structural Engineering
Website Design
Design Brief: Community Story
Challenge: Develop a website that captures the essence of your local community and shares stories, history, or significant events that have shaped your community. The website should include an interactive element (e.g., timeline, map, etc.) that the user can interact with to understand the history or stories of your community. According to the official rules, do not include school or chapter name.
HIGH SCHOOL
- Animatronics
- Architectural Design
- Audio Podcasting
- Biotechnology Design
- Children’s Stories
- Coding
- Data Science and Analytics
- Debating Technological Issues
Animatronics
“Time Travelers’ Museum”
Design Problem: Create an animatronic figure or scene from a key moment in American history. The character should "come to life" to explain their world to a young audience. Designed for a children's museum or educational tour.
Architectural Design
Audio Podcasting
Biotechnology Design
Children’s Stories
Theme: Students develop and produce a non-fiction, die-cut board book
Coding
The following programming languages may be used to complete the assigned problems:
- C version C17
- C++ version C++20
- C# version 8
- Java version 21.0
- Javascript/Node version 18.19
- Python version 3.9
- Ruby version 3.2
- Rust version 1.75
- Swift version 5.10
Data Science and Analytics
Theme: Identify and use a "Tourism"- related open-source data set for analysis and research. In the scientific poster, cite the source of the data, including the URL/domain and file format.
Debating Technological Issues
Theme: Artificial Intelligence and Ethics
- Subtopic 1: AI decision-making in judicial systems introduces bias and undermines human moral judgment.
- Subtopic 2: The development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) poses a greater existential threat than nuclear weapons.
- Subtopic 3: AI-generated art and literature diminish the value of human creativity and cultural authenticity.