Electric Propulsion Innovation Challenge STEM Challenge Pushes Students to Compete in Electric Flight

The Saint Louis Science Center and its partner, the nonprofit Lindbergh Foundation, capped a STEM-focused challenge for young students to compete for glide performance.

The Science Center’s Youth Exploring Science (YES) students can attempt the annual challenge to design, create, and fly a fully electric aircraft, with their final awards granted based on how far their design can glide. Local St. Louis area students from the YES program came out to compete in late July, before competing in a public fly-off with their designs on August 3rd. The kids were awarded a whole roster of awards for specific achievements, giving everyone a little something to be proud of. The kids that participated in the challenge this year will serve as peer-mentors for 2025's EPIC STEM Challenge next year.

The EPIC STEM Challenge was developed by Starfish Education before the concept was picked up by the Lindbergh Foundation who began to spread it throughout the Pacific Northwest. Since they started publicizing there in 2015, thousands of kids have designed and flown their own little electric aircraft. The Foundation's move to St. Louis could end up pushing the event throughout the midwest, as the Lindbergh execs aim to position themselves to "build on the region’s rich aviation history and growing position as an innovation leader." With the approaching centennial for Charles Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, his namesake Foundation's wants to cast a wide net across as many young students as they can. The future of aviation has plenty of challenges to tackle, and that needs enthusiasm and brainpower, the exact things that student-centered events aim to propagate.

“As we plant new roots in St. Louis, collaborating with the Science Center to implement the EPIC STEM Challenge is a critical first step toward a broader goal of decarbonizing the aviation industry,” said Lindbergh Foundation Chairman Erik Lindbergh. “Working alongside world-class manufacturer Seyer Industries and the world’s foremost machine tool innovator in Starrag to incentivize the next generation.” We’re proud to contribute to the growing innovation scene here in St. Louis, and having these students act as peer mentors for next year's summer camps is brilliant.”

“The Science Center’s mission is to ‘inspire everyone to be curious and engaged in science,” said Dr. Becky Thompson, the Science Center’s Chief Science and Education Officer. “Partnering on events like the EPIC STEM Challenge with the Lindbergh Foundation, helps feed into this region’s efforts to encourage deeper bonds with science and technology in our world.”

For those looking to create their own rendition of the EPIC STEM challenge, resources can be found for students in grades 6 to 12 at the link below.

FMI: www.lindberghfoundation.org, www.epicstemchallenge.com