What is FishTank Design Competition?
FishTank is a first-of-its-kind STEM+ program developed on Hawaiʻi Island and inspired by the hit TV series “Shark Tank.” It is an annual “engineering design” competition open to Hawaiʻi Island students in grades 6-12. Each year, our teams take on the challenge of designing unique solutions to some of our island’s most complicated problems. In 2018, our competition theme focused on reducing plastic waste, and in 2019, our teams developed new solutions for COVID-19 resilience for island communities. FishTank teams compete for scholarships and opportunities to take their ideas to the next level after the competition!
FishTank Pitch Day 2024 was FIN-TASTIC!!!
Mahalo nui for helping us close our FishTank 2024 season. Our in-person Pitch Day event was held at UH Hilo on March 9th, 2024, where five finalist teams presented their Lightning Pitches to a live audience of over 70 participants. Student teams and their families and friends were joined by their team coordinators, STEM professionals/SME and NexTech supporters, and volunteers to hear about their solutions to real and local problems.
FishTank 2024 Finalists Teams (Left to Right: Who Let the Dogs Out, Potato Batteries, Smart Hive, Mazu My-5, and Youth Coalition for a Plastic Free Hawai'i)
Our FishTank Design Competition was featured in the Hawai’i Community Foundation 2021 tribute to organizations that are helping to transform Hawai’i Island.
FishTank Design Competition 2021 Winners - Team L.I.V.E.