Bay Area Students Tackle Housing Crisis With Engineering Solutions in The Tech Interactive's 39th Annual Tech Challenge
More than 1,500 Students to Participate in Showcase Focused on Affordable Housing Construction
San Jose, CA, April 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This weekend, more than 1,500 students will take on one of the Bay Area’s most pressing challenges: affordable housing. The Tech Interactive, San Jose’s world-class science center, will host the final showcase of its 39th Annual Tech Challenge on Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26, 2026, transforming the San Jose Convention Center’s South Hall into a dynamic hub of student-driven engineering, creativity, and teamwork. This unique event is free and open to the public, giving everyone the chance to experience the excitement firsthand.
A team of students proudly demonstrate their device during The Tech Challenge 2025.
Students in Grades 4 to 12 from throughout the Bay Area and beyond will present bold, hands-on solutions to this year’s challenge, themed “Raise the Roof.” More than 400 student teams have spent months designing and building devices that can lift and place housing modules with precision, simulating real construction challenges tied to scalable, low-cost housing. From inventive mechanical systems to resourceful use of materials, each solution reflects the ingenuity and determination of young problem-solvers.
Now in its 39th year, The Tech Challenge invites students in Grades 4 to 12 to engage deeply with the engineering design process. Teams collaborate, test, iterate, and document their work over several months before presenting their final solutions at the culminating two-day event. Teams interview with volunteer judges, demonstrate their devices on a test rig, and present their engineering journals while families, advisers, and supporters cheer them on.
“This year’s challenge puts students at the center of solving a real issue that affects communities across the Bay Area,” said Katrina Stevens, President and CEO of The Tech Interactive. “In addition to learning the engineering design process, they are thinking critically about how to improve lives through innovation. That combination of technical skills and human-centered thinking is exactly what the future demands.”
“Students arrive at the final showcase with ideas and prototypes, but they leave with something even more powerful,” said Christina Luke Luna, VP of Learning Programs at The Tech Interactive. “Confidence in their ability to solve complex problems, work as a team, and adapt when things don’t go as planned.”
Media are invited to attend for photo and interview opportunities. The event offers highly visual moments and compelling student stories throughout the weekend.
Event Schedule:
Saturday, April 25
Grades 4 to 5: 9 to 11 a.m. (Team check-in); 1:15 to 1:45 p.m. (Special recognition celebration)
Grade 6: 2 to 3:30 p.m. (Team check-in); 4:30 to 5 p.m. (Special recognition celebration)
Sunday, April 26
Grades 9 to 12: 10 to 11:30 a.m. (Team check-in); 12:30 to 1 p.m. (Special recognition celebration)
Grades 7 to 8: 1:30 to 3 p.m. (Team check-in); 4 to 4:30 p.m. (Special recognition celebration)
Location:
San Jose Convention Center, South Hall
435 S. Market St., San Jose, CA 95113
Sponsors of The Tech Challenge include:
Legacy Supporters: Barbara and Bill Heil
Pioneer Supporters: Adobe Systems Incorporated, Intel Corporation, Rulofson Estate
Founding Supporters: Amazon, Arm, ASML, EY, Constance and Gerald Held, Marvell Technologies, Neat, Nokia, Workday Foundation
The 2026 Challenge: Design, build, test, and demonstrate an innovative lifting device that transfers housing modules from one place to another at a construction site.
About The Tech Interactive
The Tech Interactive is a family-friendly science and technology center in the heart of downtown San Jose. Our hands-on activities, experimental labs and design challenge experiences empower people to innovate with creativity, curiosity and compassion. The Tech is a world leader in the creation of immersive STEM education resources to develop the next generation of problem-solvers locally, nationally and globally. We believe that everyone is born an innovator who can change the world for the better.
Press Inquiries
Katie Barrow
publicrelations [at] thetech.org
https://www.thetech.org
201 S. Market St.
San Jose, CA 95113
A video accompanying this announcement is available here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=TatemBJn5qA
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