Design Challenge 2025

The Design Challenge is to encourage our students to collaborate across disciplines on design and implementation.  Our goal is to bring together the many ways our diverse disciplines approach design. We also want to encourage students to seek others outside of their major and make use of the campus's innovation centers.

The Fall 2025 challenge is to tell stories using moving “panels”.  The “panels” can be any shape that is viewable.  The panels or their supports can move to progress through the stories, or the viewer can move around the stories.  Many stories can be told.  

These can be potential prototypes for the spring ArtWalk event.

Since there is more than one story, one requirement is probability calculations. What are the possible combinations of panels, permutations of panels, and/or based on one panel chosen, what are the probabilities of the next panels.  The probability calculation can be worked into the stories

The stories can be AI generated.  Probability is what predictive and generative AI and machine learning are based on.

Eligibility

• This year’s challenge must be done by a group of 2-3 students.
• The group must have at least 1 member with a declared major outside of the academic area of the other members (STEM, Humanities, Arts, Business, Education and Social Science, Applied Technology, Health Sciences, Workforce Development and Continuing Education)*.  Dual majors must have partners outside of both majors.
• All current Montgomery College students are welcome to enter the contest except for faculty, staff, and Innovation Center student assistants.
• One entry per group.
• Each student can be a member of only one group.
• All entries must have 3D printed parts designed using school licensed CAD engineering software: CREO, OnShape, and SolidWorks. No other CAD software accepted.
• The design is original, creative, and copyright free.
• The competition is ongoing and ends on November 26 (23:59 PM). The complete physical design must be brought to the Rockville Innovation Center (SC409) by December 6th.
  *Early College program students are exempt from this requirement.

Requirements/Guidelines of the Challenge

1. The design must use functional components made in MC Innovation Centers.
   
   
2. The part file(s) must be made with school licensed CAD software. The part files and print files must be submitted for review.
   
   
3. The completed sculpture must fit in a closed, standard, 8½ x 11, printer paper box (11.5x18x9 in) and weigh under 40 pounds.
   
   
4. The sculpture must be safe.  No combustion, detonation, deflagration, or residual contamination.  No sharp external edges.  No fast-moving parts that can be approached.  No “Pinch” points.  No AC power plugs or cords (outlets will not be available).
   
   
5. The total Estimated cost of all parts of the sculpture must be under $200.  Estimated cost includes “found” parts (from garage, supplies, dumpster, etc.).  A BOM, bill of materials with their estimated cost, must be included with the submission.  This cost should include the time an AI system used to generate content.
   
   
6. Roles & Responsibilities of team members must be maintained in an Executive Summary (see Appendix below). The Final Summary to be submitted with the rest of the project. All members of the group must show their participation to be awarded their portion of a winning design.
   
   
7. Write a one-page learning experience paper that addresses your approach to the project and what you learned.  Where did the stories come from, who is telling whose story?  If the stories are AI generated, where did the AI get the data it used to train on (there are many platforms and they have some of this information. If they don’t, maybe you shouldn’t be sing that platform).  Show the probability calculation of how many stories are possible and which story gets told.
   
   
8. Prepare to talk about your design at the judging.  Show the probability calculation and how the stories were formed.
   
   
9. Consider aesthetics, drama or serenity, story concepts, philosophy, ethics, and appreciation by any observer in your design. 

Competition and Prizes

The following prize totals are awarded to each 2 to 3 team members:

• First prize 1 – 3D Printer + multifilament feeder
• Second 1 – VR Glasses
• Third 1 – Quad Copter Drone
• Honorable mention 2 - Toolkits

Judging

• All entries will be displayed at the judging and awards event on Thursday, December 11th.
• All students are welcome.
• Judges are selected from faculty in STEM, Social Science, Humanities, Art, and staff and student assistants.

Judging Criteria:

Story panel criteria - 85%

1. Creativity and Originality of Design: The uniqueness of the design and concept, as well as innovative use of materials and techniques.
   
   
2. Kinetic Action: How well the panels or observer can move through the story. It should move in a way that enhances its artistic expression and advances the story(ies).
   
   
3. Aesthetic Expression: Elegance and dissonance, balance and intrigue, cohesiveness and contention.
   
   
4. Technical Execution: Quality of craftsmanship, including structural integrity and precision in construction.
   
   
5. Ethical Considerations: Sustainability, Reuse, where the energy comes from, who can experience it, Context and Meaning of the stories.

Learning experience paper and Executive Summary - 15%

1. Addresses approach to project, what did and did not work and lessons learned, discussion of probabilty.
2. Project completion Executive Summary

Bonus points (1 - 5 points) will be awarded for being prepared to discuss with judges your design and learning experience.

Submit Your Entry

Please combine your one-page learning experience paper, your executive summary, your bill of materials, and your CAD (in .prt or .sldprt format) files into one .zip file (highlight files and right-click mouse button, then select “send to“, you will see compressed-zipped folder option), and submit it below by November 26 (23:59 PM).