NW Valley Times

The International Christian STEM Competition took place at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, hosting approximately 200 students from 22 Christian schools across the United States and the Dominican Republic. The event featured five challenges, including an on-site design competition, robotics, and aerospace challenges. This is the fourth consecutive year GCU has partnered with the Association of Christian Schools International to host the competition.

The competition aims to encourage science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in Christian schools, with university President Brian Mueller aspiring for GCU to become a leader in Christian STEM education. Students competed in creating a rocket catcher, a task inspired by the idea of reusable rockets. Participants had to construct structures within a limited time and resources to catch a rocket dropped from a certain height.

Scottsdale Christian Academy quickly developed a design, with freshman Isaac Hammon voicing confidence in their concept. "If the rocket comes in line like this, it'll self-correct," Hammon explained. Another team from Mission Viejo Christian School opted for a conical structure to catch the rocket. "It helps you to work under pressure," said eighth-grader Grace Zekaria.

Besides the rocket challenge, students tackled an AI chatbot competition, the Venture entrepreneurial challenge, and a robot search-and-rescue task, among others. "GCU is helping to support and uplift Christian schools at the K12 level," said Dr. Corinne Araza, a senior project director at GCU.

Teachers and students highlighted the collaborative and learning aspects of the event. Participants like Esther Abarbanell from the Christian Schools at Castle Hills focused on enhancing their robots for improved performance. "It's 90 pages of everything we did," she said about the engineering design notebook her team compiled.

Volunteers like GCU's Tyler Heckel and student judge Ysabelle Trinidad emphasized the event's educational and inspirational nature, noting the integration of Christian faith within STEM tasks. "To see all these Christians come from all parts of the country, that’s super awesome," Heckel remarked.

Contact GCU Manager of Internal Communications Lana Sweeten-Shults for more information on this event.