A Simple 10-Step Guide to the 2026 Ball Run Challenge

Follow the steps below to run the 2026 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge with students. The Ball Run Challenge is a fun and accessible activity for students in grades K-12.

The 2026 Ball Run Challenge is an engaging, low-cost way for students to try engineering. As they design, build, test, and improve their ball runs to slow a ping pong ball from start to finish, students use the engineering design process, explore core physics concepts, and build confidence as engineers.

With separate worksheets and lesson plans available for elementary, middle, and high school, as well as individual student project directions, the 2026 Engineering Challenge supports students of all ages. The challenge is open to students around the world, scales in complexity to match students' science knowledge at different grade levels, and can be done in classrooms, at home, or in out-of-school and community programs.

The steps below offer a simple guide to running the challenge with your students. These steps incorporate introducing or reviewing the engineering design process, connecting to science curriculum topics, and scaling the project to meet your student needs.

10 Steps to Do the Ball Run Challenge

1

Introduce the Ball Run Challenge and watch the video overview.

2

Review the directions. Directions for the 2026 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge are available in multiple formats. Lesson plans include a worksheet for students to document their Ball Run Challenge design, testing, and iteration. The rules, materials, and scoring are the same for all grades, so use the lesson that best fits your classroom or program:

• Elementary School Lesson Plan
• Middle School Lesson Plan
• High School Lesson Plan
• Student Instructions (no worksheet)

The 2026 Ball Run Challenge contains an optional "add-a-loop" variation for classrooms that have built a ball run before or for students ready to stretch their designs. When reviewing the challenge with students, you will need to decide whether students will be required to add a loop or be given the option to do so.

3

Review the steps of the Engineering Design Process and watch the Engineering Design Process video.

Tip! Reviewing the Engineering Design Process helps students understand how to approach designing, testing, and iterating to troubleshoot and improve their ball run devices. For additional resources, see 4 Ways to Teach Engineering Design.

4

Review the rules and the allowable materials. This is a paper-and-tape challenge, which makes it easy to gather supplies and keeps the focus on trying engineering, but there are rules that need to be followed when designing and testing the ball run and rules about the types of paper and tape allowed and how much of each can be used. Review this information with students so they understand the design requirements and how material usage relates to the final score.

5

Talk about the science involved. Building a ball run involves a range of physics concepts. To reinforce the STEM learning, you may want to discuss:

• Kinematics
• Kinetic and potential energy
• Newton's laws of motion
• Conservation of energy
• Forces, including friction and drag

(For additional resources to explore these curriculum topics, see 13 Activities and Lessons to Teach Potential and Kinetic Energy, Teach About Newton's Laws of Motion, and 26 Science Projects and Experiments to Teach About Types of Energy.)

6

Brainstorm and sketch ideas. Have students sketch ideas for their ball runs. What design elements do they plan to use to slow the run? Sketching their ideas (or drawing diagrams like the one shown below) helps students think through how their ball run will work. (Tip! Student worksheets included with the lesson plans contain space and guidance for brainstorming solutions.)

The overview video shows several example ball runs, but there are many ways students might approach designing a ball run using the available materials. Here are a few questions students might ask as they brainstorm their design:

• How tall will the ball run be?
• How can they conserve paper while still adding height to the run?
• What approach will they take to slowing down the ping pong ball?
• How will they ensure the ball run exit meets the minimum height requirement?

After thinking about and sketching multiple options, have students choose the design they think will result in a working ball run with elements that introduce friction or resistance.

7

(Optional) Team up! Students can work in teams of 1-4 on their solutions. This is a great way to practice teamwork and communication skills. When they pool their ideas and troubleshooting, students have the benefit of multiple perspectives. Plus, working together to solve the challenge is a lot of fun. Don't forget to have students pick a team name. No matter what size the team is, it needs a name to be entered in the challenge. (Note: Team names must be in good taste. Entries can and will be rejected if team names are deemed inappropriate.)

8

Design, build, and iterate. Remind students that engineering involves building, testing, and making design changes to solve problems and continue improving their ball runs. Designs don't always work the first time, and even when they do, they can usually be improved. Troubleshooting and making changes are part of the engineering process. Be sure to encourage early testing so students have time to make changes to improve their ball runs. The video below helps explain the concept of iteration.

9

Test the ball runs and calculate scores. Set a deadline for students to finish building their ball runs. Review the testing protocol. Students will need to record their time and materials to calculate the final score. (Tip! Lesson plans contain a printable entry information sheet that students can complete, making it easier to enter team information later.)

10

Enter for a chance to win! Submissions for the 2026 Ball Run Challenge will be accepted February 22-March 31, 2026. (The online submission form will not be available until the submission window opens.) All K-12 students/teams, regardless of location, are invited to submit their solution to compete for a high score.

To officially enter the challenge, students will need their:

• Team name
• Number of team members and average age of the team
• Final score
• Time
• Two photos: one showing the ball run and one showing the team with their ball run (if possible). (Two different photos are required for the submission to be counted.)

Prizes: Complete entries from students in eligible geographic regions, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, will be automatically entered in random drawings for prize money to be awarded to the winning team's school or organization. (See the Engineering Challenge page for eligibility and prize information.)

Engineering Challenge Showcase: All complete entries will be automatically entered in the Engineering Challenge Showcase. Students will be able to see how other students solved the challenge and everyone will be invited to vote on favorites. This is an opportunity for communities to support local schools and programs.

Questions?

You will find answers to many questions in the FAQ for the Ball Run Challenge. If other questions come up, please email us at [email protected].

What about video? Videos can be a fun way to record and share classroom testing! If you share videos on social media, be sure to tag us and also add #BallRunChallenge and #ScienceBuddiesEngineeringChallenge. To officially enter the challenge, entries must be submitted via the online form. Only images can be uploaded.