Build a Device to Pick Up a Ball from the Farthest Distance

The 2023 competition is over, but you can still try this challenge for fun! Can you build a device to pick up a ping pong ball and return it to the start line? With just string, paper, tape, and paper clips to build with, what is the furthest distance over which your device will work?

Full details, including the building, testing, and scoring procedures, can be found in these four formats:

• Elementary School Ping Pong Pickup Challenge Lesson Plan
• Middle School Ping Pong Pickup Challenge Lesson Plan
• High School Ping Pong Pickup Challenge Lesson Plan
• Ping Pong Pickup Challenge Instructions for Students

Congratulations to All Participants

Over 13,000 students from 33 countries participated in the 2023 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge: Ping Pong Pickup. Using only limited amounts of paper, tape, string, and paper clips students ages 6-18 built a wide range of devices to pick up a ping pong ball and return it to a start line. The range of solutions and the perseverance of students was impressive! We saw a number of creative devices ranging from long poles with string supports to kite-like devices thrown then snapped tight through a web of strings. Students also had great solutions for keeping the ping pong ball well secured in their devices including sticky webs of tape, fringe for friction, and string activated lids. We heard from many students and teachers who pushed through the frustration of initial plans not panning out and kept going until they had a working solution, then kept going again to improve their scores even more. Congratulations to each and every student who participated and a big thank you to the educators and parents who supported them!

"As a teacher, I love the challenge because it makes the engineering model real. This was the second engineering project the students completed, and all my students had success! They learned the true meaning of iteration."
Tammy Hensley, teacher

Drawing Winners

All eligible team entries were placed into random prize drawings. Congratulations to the ten winning teams listed in Table 1 whose names were drawn from the eligible pools! Through their willingness to try engineering and work at solving the 2023 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge, each of these teams earned $1,000 USD for their school.

Top Scores Overall

Students' Ping Pong Pickup devices were scored based on the total distance over which the device could successfully retrieve a ping pong ball, minus the materials costs (calculated in points). Table 2 shows the teams, across all ages, with the highest scores. All scores were validated by Science Buddies staff based on submission photos and the challenge rules.

Top Scores by Age

To recognize the hard work students did creating and testing their solutions and to give students a better sense of how their solutions and scores compare to other students of similar age, the tables and graphs below show the top scores and score distribution for submissions from ages up to age 10, 11-14, and 15-18. (Note: The age used for each team is the average age of all members on the team.)

"The kids said their favorite part was creating the solution, and as a parent and PTO president, I would say the best part was giving us an exciting challenge that was both easy to facilitate and got the kids involved and excited about STEM."
Lizzie Lipman, parent

"My class thoroughly enjoyed this fun and achievable challenge. The simple rules, engaging and clear instructional video, common materials, and pre-made student workbook made this an easy challenge to facilitate as a teacher... The students also loved the idea of being part of an international competition — despite our geographical remoteness we were able to connect with a global STEM community, and the students were all driven to complete the challenge to the best of their ability."
Tanya Charsley, teacher

"[My favorite part of the challenge was] watching and listening to the students talk with one another. They laughed, yelled when it failed, and cheered when it worked — that is what teaching is about!!! Thank you."
Le Pearson, teacher