TSIN Partners with Tennessee Department of Agriculture for '19-20 Student Design Challenge

Tennessee is a major producer of food, but each day one in five Tennesseans does not know where their next meal will come from. This is called food insecurity—not having access to sufficient, healthy food. Food security is the opposite—having access to sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. As our world population grows, this problem will become more and more prevalent. Scientists predict that we will have 9 billion people on earth by 2050, and we need to begin to reconsider how we grow, transport, and consume food to ensure that we can feed billions of people as our population grows.

Last year, the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network invited students across the state to participate in a design challenge and this year we are doing it again! We are pleased to partner with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture for the 2019-2020 Statewide Design Challenge for Tennessee's students.

This year’s challenge is to:

Work as a team to imagine, design, and prototype a solution to increase food security for your community, region, or throughout the state of Tennessee.

There are many different topics you can explore to help us solve this challenge, including food deserts, biotechnology, food production and environmental considerations. Here are some examples of the different systems that impact food security:

At Battelle , we know that teachers are our bridge to the future, equipping students with the skills to solve the problems of tomorrow. We’re excited to see what your students can achieve and hope to shine a light on the great work that you do in classrooms all across Tennessee.

To launch the challenge at your school:

1. Sign upfor the School Starter Kit featuring:

This design challenge can be completed as a part of a class, a school-wide challenge, or in after-school clubs. Students will use the design process to:

1. Define the problem
2. Conduct background research
3. Brainstorm solutions
4. Choose the best solution
5. Build a prototype
6. Test and redesign the solution

Once students have their solutions, they will present them at a school-wide showcase. Each school will have the opportunity to send students to our statewide showcase in spring 2020!