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
- Solar Racer
- STEM Animation
- Structural Engineering
Microcontroller Design
Theme: Wearable Technology
Off the Grid
Design Brief: Resilient Housing Unit in Cabo San Lucas
Overview:
A family of six lives in an informal settlement, or colonia, on the outskirts of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The family consists of two parents, one grandparent and three children.
Their current home is self-built using salvaged materials such as scrap wood, corrugated metal, pallets, and tarps. The home is single-level and crowded, with limited privacy between generations. The family does not have reliable access to running water, sewage, electricity, drainage, or waste collection. Water is delivered by truck and stored in a small cistern, while electricity and sanitation systems are often improvised.
The region’s arid desert climate creates year-round challenges, including extreme heat, strong seasonal winds, and persistent dust. In addition, many informal settlements are located near arroyos, flood zones, or unstable terrain, placing families at serious risk during hurricanes and flash floods.
Challenge:
The family needs a safe, affordable, and resilient single-level housing unit that can support multi-generational living in an informal settlement in Cabo San Lucas. Your task is to design a housing solution that improves comfort, safety, dignity, and long-term livability while responding to the region’s climate, limited infrastructure, and economic realities.
Requirements:
• The housing unit must be single-level and designed for a multi-generational family.
• The design should include passive cooling, natural ventilation, and strategies to reduce heat and dust inside the home.
• The structure must be more resilient to hurricanes, strong winds, flash flooding, and unstable ground conditions.
• The home should include solutions for water collection, water storage, and water conservation.
• The design must address sanitation, drainage, and waste management in areas without reliable public infrastructure.
• The proposal should use affordable, durable, and locally available materials when possible.
• The home should be simple to build, repair, and maintain using realistic construction methods.
• The design should allow for incremental or phased construction so the family can improve the home over time.
• The layout should include flexible spaces for privacy, family gathering, sleeping, cooking, and daily activities.
• The design should be scalable so it could potentially be adapted for other families in similar communities.
Budget:
Your team has a limited budget equivalent to the income of a working family in Cabo San Lucas. The design should prioritize affordability, durability, and realistic implementation. The budget must account for building materials, water storage, basic sanitation, ventilation, flood protection.
Prepared Speech
2027 National TSA Conference Theme: “Forward to Fifty”
Promotional Marketing
Theme: You have been asked to develop a promotional marketing campaign for Discover TSA: Open House & Recruitment Night. The purpose of the event is to introduce prospective members and their families to the opportunities available through the Technology Student Association. The event will feature student demonstrations, interactive STEM activities, competitive event displays, and opportunities to meet current TSA members.
Use the following information when creating your promotional materials:
Event Name: Discover TSA: Open House & Recruitment Night
School: Edison Middle School
School Mascot: Emus
School Colors: Green and White
Date: Friday, August 1, 2027
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Edison Middle School
Address: 1840 Innovation Parkway, Orlando, FL 32819
Printable Design
A promotional graphic suitable for both print and social media advertising that promotes the event.
Wearable Design
A collectible lapel pin for the Edison TSA chapter.
Digital Design
An auto-advancing digital welcome presentation highlighting event activities, chapter accomplishments, and opportunities available through TSA
Robotics
Solar Racer
A model solar track on top of carpet will be the floor surface at the 2027 National TSA Conference
STEM Animation
Theme: Think. Design. Create. An animation centered on the engineering design process.
Structural Engineering
HIGH SCHOOL
- Photographic Technology
- Prepared Presentation
- Promotional Design
- Robotics
- Software Development
- STEM Mass Media
- Structural Design and Engineering
- Transportation Modeling
Photographic Technology
Theme: Behind the scenes
Prepared Presentation
Promotional Design
Theme: Milestone Diner, a new retro-inspired American diner, is preparing for its grand opening. You have been hired to create a cohesive brand identity and promotional materials that celebrate the diner's nostalgic 1978 inspiration while attracting today's customers. The restaurant's branding should reflect a nostalgic late-1970s aesthetic while remaining inviting, family-friendly, and appealing to a modern audience.
The following items are the required design pieces:
Item #1 – Restaurant Logo
Design a logo for Milestone Diner. The logo should be submitted enlarged on an 8.5" × 11" sheet of paper (portrait or landscape, designer's choice). The logo should establish the restaurant's visual identity and be appropriate for use across all required promotional materials.
Item #2 – Restaurant Menu
Design a bifold restaurant menu for Milestone Diner using tabloid-size paper (11" × 17"). The menu should be designed so the front and back panels are correctly positioned for printing and folding. Participants should create original menu item names, descriptions, and pricing appropriate for a classic American diner.
Item #3 – General Manager Business Card
Design a single-sided business card for the General Manager of Milestone Diner. The business card should reflect the restaurant's established brand identity while presenting the required contact information in a professional, well-organized layout.
Item #4 – Instagram Grand Opening Advertisement
Design a static Instagram graphic (4:5 vertical ratio) promoting the Grand Opening of Milestone Diner. The advertisement should capture attention, encourage attendance, and maintain the restaurant's established visual identity.
Use the following details for the design challenge:
Restaurant Name: Milestone Diner
Address: 1978 Celebration Boulevard
Orlando, FL 32819
Phone: (407) 555-1978
General Manager: Delmar Olson
Email: manager@milestonediner.com
Grand Opening Date: July 1, 2027
Robotics
Software Development
Develop a software application that improves how people learn, teach, practice, or develop new skills. Competitors should identify an educational or training challenge affecting learners of any age and design an engaging, effective, and user-centered software solution.
STEM Mass Media
Headline: Scientists link human right-handedness to walking upright and brain evolution
Most humans favor their right hand, but scientists have long debated why this pattern is so common across cultures. Unlike humans, other primates do not show the same strong population-wide preference for one hand. A new Oxford-led study published in PLOS Biology suggests that human right-handedness may be connected to two major steps in human evolution: walking upright on two legs and the expansion of the brain. Researchers analyzed data from 2,025 individuals across 41 species of monkeys and apes, using evolutionary modeling to compare possible explanations for handedness, including tool use, diet, habitat, body size, social behavior, brain size, and locomotion. Their findings suggest that as early human ancestors became more fully bipedal and developed larger brains, right-handedness became increasingly common. The study also raises new questions about why left-handedness still exists and whether similar patterns of limb preference in other animals may have evolved in comparable ways.
Prompt:
Based on the following headline, develop a news broadcast that includes an introduction of the headline, a summary of the information in the news story, and an explanation of potential future implications of the highlighted work.
Structural Design and Engineering
Transportation Modeling