Sa Jose, CA, July 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A ha ds-o e gi ee i g educatio model developed by The Tech I te active, Sa Jose’s Scie ce Ce te , is helpi g stude ts ac oss Ke ya build eal-wo ld p oblem-solvi g skills th ough c eativity, collabo atio , a d desig .
A stude t team tests its collapsible shelte desig agai st simulated sto m co ditio s at The Tech Challe ge Ke ya showcase i Naku u. The 2026 challe ge i vited stude ts to apply ha ds-o e gi ee i g, teamwo k, a d c eative p oblem-solvi g skills.
Du i g two weeke ds i July, 1,451 stude ts o 247 teams pa ticipated i two 2026 Tech Challe ge Ke ya showcases i Kisumu a d Naku u cou ties, whe e they tested collapsible shelte desig s th ough The Tech Challe ge: Su vive the Sto m, also k ow i Swahili as Epuka Upepo Mkali.
The showcases a e pa t of The Tech I te active’s g owi g global wo k to expa d access to scalable STEAM educatio . Th ough its Desig Challe ge Lea i g Teache T ai e P og am i Ke ya, The Tech has t ai ed ea ly 20,000 educato s a d eached mo e tha 568,000 stude ts i th ee yea s. I 2025, the p og am eceived the Roy L. Shafe Leadi g Edge Awa d f om the Associatio of Scie ce a d Tech ology Ce te s, ecog izi g its success i apidly scali g ha ds-o , desig -based STEM educatio i pa t e ship with educato s a d commu ities ac oss Ke ya.
“The Tech Challe ge has always bee about mo e tha what stude ts build,” said Shital Patel, Di ecto of Global Pa t e ships at The Tech I te active. “It is about what they discove whe they test a idea, lea f om what did ot wo k, a d t y agai . I Ke ya, we a e seei g you g people take o big, futu e-faci g p oblems with c eativity, g it, a d a deep se se of possibility.”
The Tech Challe ge Ke ya is a atu al exte sio of The Tech I te active’s missio to i spi e the i ovato i eve yo e by expa di g access to ha ds-o STEAM educatio i commu ities a ou d the wo ld. Developed by The Tech a d adapted i pa t e ship with Ke ya educato s, the p og am uses e gi ee i g desig to help stude ts build p actical skills th ough ope -e ded p oblem solvi g.
Rathe tha b i gi g i a o e-size-fits-all p og am, The Tech wo ks alo gside Ke ya educato s, gove me t pa t e s, a d local commu ities to build a model that is locally led a d built to last. Th ough a t ai -the-t ai e app oach ooted i pee -to-pee me to ship, educato s pa ticipate i emote t ai i g led by The Tech I te active, the suppo t a d me to fellow educato s i thei ow commu ities.
That ipple effect helps desig challe ge lea i g sp ead ac oss class ooms, while keepi g the p og am cultu ally eleva t a d espo sive to the stude ts it se ves.
This yea ’s challe ge asked stude ts f om G ade 4 th ough Fo m 4 to desig a d co st uct collapsible shelte s that could p otect vul e able st uctu es, ep ese ted du i g testi g by stacked pape cubes, f om ext eme weathe co ditio s, simulated by two high-powe ed fa s.
Each shelte had to be po table e ough to fit i side a sta da d shoppi g bag. Du i g the showcases, stude ts u packed, deployed, a d assembled thei desig s withi a timed testi g wi dow, the watched as thei devices we e tested i eal time.
The challe ge suppo ted the goals of Ke ya’s Compete cy-Based Cu iculum by givi g stude ts ha ds-o oppo tu ities to collabo ate, thi k c itically, commu icate effectively, a d develop p actical solutio s co ected to eal-wo ld challe ges. As commu ities a ou d the wo ld face u ge t questio s about esilie ce a d ext eme weathe , Su vive the Sto m gave stude ts a ta gible way to explo e e gi ee i g, p epa ed ess, a d c eative p oblem solvi g.
“Whe you g mi ds a e give the oppo tu ity to i ovate, they do ’t just imagi e the futu e, they c eate it. The Tech Challe ge is a celeb atio of c eativity, esilie ce, a d e gi ee i g excelle ce,” said local teache Ke eth Odhiambo O igah.
Ahead of the eve ts, The Tech I te active’s local field staff visited schools ac oss the pa ticipati g cou ties with mobile testi g equipme t. These visits gave stude ts oppo tu ities to p ototype, test, a d imp ove thei shelte s befo e p ese ti g them at the showcases.
“What we saw this yea we t beyo d class oom physics. It was a demo st atio of pu e g it a d commu ity-mi ded p oblem solvi g,” Patel said. “These stude ts u packed ve y big, futu e-faci g ideas f om ve y small shoppi g bags, a d thei esilie ce was t uly i spi i g.”
The fi st showcase took place Satu day, July 11, 2026, at Mase o U ive sity i Kisumu Cou ty, whe e 124 teams comp isi g 729 stude ts pa ticipated. The seco d showcase was held Satu day, July 18, 2026, at Rift Valley Natio al Polytech ic U ive sity i Naku u Cou ty, whe e 123 teams comp isi g 722 stude ts took pa t.
Th oughout the two eve ts, stude ts p ese ted thei desig s to pa els of judges, explai ed the choices behi d thei p ojects, lea ed f om o e a othe ’s i ve tio s, a d eceived ecog itio fo thei achieveme ts. Each showcase co cluded with a high-e e gy celeb atio ho o i g all pa ticipati g teams a d the wo k they completed.
At Mase o U ive sity, o e stude t asked, “Is this whe e I ca study to become a e gi ee ?” The mome t captu ed the deepe pu pose of The Tech Challe ge Ke ya: helpi g you g people see e gi ee i g ot as somethi g dista t, but as a futu e they ca imagi e fo themselves.
The 2026 showcases also i t oduced a pe so alized ecog itio f amewo k i place of a co ve tio al medal system. Pa ticipati g stude ts eceived eve t T-shi ts a d official la ya ds whe e they displayed badges ea ed ac oss eight a eas of excelle ce, i cludi g device desig , teamwo k, a d effective e gi ee i g jou als.
Device testi g: Each team’s shelte was tested u de simulated ext eme-weathe co ditio s.Team i te view: Pai s of judges spoke with each team to assess the stude ts’ e gi ee i g p ocess, collabo atio , a d ability to commu icate thei ideas.E gi ee i g jou al: Each team submitted a w itte eco d docume ti g the developme t of its p oject f om i itial co cept th ough testi g a d efi eme t.
The esult was a joyful emi de that The Tech Challe ge is about mo e solvi g the challe ge. It is about empowe i g you g people see themselves as p oblem-solve s, e gi ee s, collabo ato s, a d i ovato s.
The success of the 2026 Tech Challe ge Ke ya showcases was made possible by the ge e ous suppo t of spo so s a d commu ity pa t e s, i cludi g Ke Af ic, T opical Heat, SBM Ba k, Lifeca e Hospital, Nai obi Spo ts House, Ci cle I ovatio , Njo o Ca i g i Naku u, Lio s Club Naku u, Sy cfusio , a d Su blest.
Th ough fi a cial co t ibutio s a d i -ki d do atio s, i cludi g s acks, meals, d i ki g wate , T-shi ts, ce tificates, a d I ovatio Kits, these pa t e s helped c eate a welcomi g, memo able, a d ewa di g expe ie ce fo pa ticipati g stude ts. The Tech I te active is deeply g ateful fo thei commitme t to youth i ovatio , educatio , a d the ext ge e atio of Ke ya p oblem-solve s.
Stude ts chee as thei shelte desig is tested agai st simulated sto m co ditio s at The Tech Challe ge Ke ya showcase i Naku u. The 2026 challe ge, Su vive the Sto m, celeb ates ha ds-o e gi ee i g, teamwo k, a d joyful discove y.
Jessica Kilpat ickpublic elatio s [at] thetech.o ghttps://www.thetech.o g201 S. Ma ket St.Sa Jose, CA 95113
