Participants at the Tech Challenge in Kisumu, Kenya.

What began as a Silicon Valley student challenge is now transforming STEM education in Kenya, where 4,800 students and 20,000 trained teachers are proving that innovation thrives anywhere. The Tech Interactive has been awarded the Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award at the 2025 ASTC Conference for its efforts in Kenya. A Siliconeer report.

Downtown San Jose pulsed with the energy of thousands of young innovators at the 38th Annual Tech Challenge, The Tech Interactive’s signature engineering design program. The challenge, “Gravitate to Navigate,” reminded us what Silicon Valley is all about: creativity. More than 2,000 students from across Northern California gathered for a weekend filled with gravity-powered devices, costumes, cheering families, and the joyful chaos of ingenuity at work.

In the summer, the same spirit leapt continents. In Kisumu and Nakuru counties in Kenya, thousands of students took on a Tech Challenge of their own—this time solving a problem close to home: how to deliver food and supplies to rural communities. Armed with bottles, string, boxes, and a wildly creative imagination, teams built devices that could survive a three-meter drop and still deliver a coin up a ramp to a target zone. In a place where resources are scarce, students proved that innovation is more than just fancy labs or high-tech tools. Resilience, determination, and adaptability fuel innovation. 

What began nearly four decades ago in Silicon Valley has become an international movement. In Kenya alone, more than 4,800 students from hundreds of schools participated this year, some traveling hours by bus just to compete. Medals and certificates were awarded for effort and courage—whether it was deaf students presenting in sign language, shy learners finding confidence before judges, or rural kids turning recycled scraps into functional prototypes. 

Beyond the prototypes, the challenge connects students with companies like IX Data Center and Zipline, offering a glimpse into real-world engineering careers. For many, it’s the first time they can picture themselves in STEM.

Glimpses of the 2025 Tech Challenge in Nakuru

Teachers, too, are being transformed. Through The Tech Interactive’s Design Challenge Learning (DCL) program, more than 20,000 educators in Kenya have been trained to guide discovery rather than just deliver answers—an approach that builds real problem-solvers, not just test-takers.

The impact of this work hasn’t gone unnoticed. At the 2025 ASTC Annual Conference in San Francisco, The Tech Interactive was honored with the Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for its Kenya-based Design Challenge Learning Teacher Trainer Program. The award, presented by the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), recognizes institutions worldwide that are pushing the boundaries of informal science learning and community engagement.

This year’s awardees range from museums that rebuilt learning opportunities after natural disasters, to science centers integrating Indigenous knowledge, to programs re-imagining the role of trades in STEAM. In that company, The Tech Interactive’s recognition underscores the significance of the model born in Silicon Valley, inspiring educators and transforming communities on a global scale.

For Silicon Valley, the birthplace of countless innovations, the Tech Challenge in Kenya is proof that the spirit of invention belongs everywhere. It shows that the next world-changing idea could come just as easily from Kisumu as Cupertino, California.

Tech Challenge is more than just building devices. It’s about building confidence, resilience, and hope. From San Jose to the Silicon Savannah, the message is clear: innovation knows no borders.

For more details, contact: Shital Patel (spatel@tech.org) or Jessica Adam (jadam@tech.org)

 

Images provided by The Tech Interactive