Young Engineers Take on Real World Challenge
Smith Jewish Academy’s third graders are celebrating an exciting achievement after earning First Place Overall and the Innovation Award in the Minnesota Zoo’s ZOOMS STEM Design Challenge, a statewide engineering competition that invites students to tackle real-world challenges faced by zoo animals. Smith students have taken top honors seven times in the last eight years!
In this year’s challenge, students were asked to step into the role of engineers and design something that would help a California sea lion live a healthier, happier, and more enriched life. Through research, brainstorming, building, and testing, students developed creative solutions that combined imagination with practical engineering thinking.
“This project gives students a chance to think like real engineers,” said lower school science specialist and Makerspace educator Susan Vlodaver. “They ask questions, explore different ideas, build something from scratch, and then improve it through testing and revision. Engineering isn’t about having the perfect idea right away — it’s about being curious, trying things out, and improving as you go.”
Two Smith teams stood out among the many schools participating across Minnesota.
Amira B., Arne D., and Eli W. earned First Place Overall for their design, Sensory Reef, which incorporates movable elements and lift bags that would allow zoo staff to easily reposition and maintain the structure while providing enrichment for the sea lions.
A second team — Isaiah G., Rowan K., Eitan S., and Matan S. —received the Innovation Award for their imaginative design, The Gelatin Jet, a “sea lion vending machine” that allows the animal to press buttons to receive a gelatin fish treat or create waves for enrichment.
Throughout the process, students practiced the core skills of engineering: creativity, persistence, and collaboration.
“What really stood out was how willing the students were to dream big and build on each other’s ideas,” Ms. Vlodaver shared. “There were strong opinions, big feelings, and the occasional creative disagreement — but those moments were some of the most meaningful parts of the process. The students learned how to listen, compromise, and combine ideas to make their designs even stronger.”
The Minnesota Zoo’s ZOOMS program is a large statewide initiative involving thousands of students each year who design solutions to help zoo animals thrive. This year alone, over 5,000 students from 85 schools participated, developing more than 1,600 design projects.
For Smith’s third graders, the experience was about much more than winning awards.
“More than anything,” Ms. Vlodaver said, “I hope the students walk away knowing they’re capable of solving big, meaningful problems. Their ideas matter, and they should feel proud and confident to keep thinking big.”