SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - September 09, 2014) - For 27 years, The Tech Challenge, a signature program of The Tech, has inspired creativity and equipped students with hands-on experiences in engineering design and real-world problem solving. In recognition of the museum's continued efforts in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), the Noyce Foundation awarded the annual design and engineering program with a Bright Lights Community Engagement Award.

The Noyce Foundation, in collaboration with Stephen Brown and his team from Mobile Digital Arts, has released seven video stories of the Bright Lights Award winners. The prizes recognize U.S. science centers, children's museums, and natural history museums that have done an outstanding job engaging with their communities.

Each year, The Tech Challenge program presents a project geared to solving a real-world problem and teaches the complete engineering process -- research, brainstorm, design, prototype, test, iterate. The program culminates with two event days during which teams of students present their innovations to volunteer judges from the Silicon Valley technology world. Throughout its history, The Tech Challenge has steadily increased participation among low-income children and girls through targeted and effective community outreach. About 40 percent of participants are from low-income families and 45 percent are girls.

In a pool of 94 applicants judged through three rounds, The Tech was one of seven winners. In addition to The Tech, the winners included Explora (Albuquerque, N.M.); the Hands On Children's Museum (Olympia, Wash.); the Science Museum of Minnesota (St. Paul, Minn.); the Monterey Bay Aquarium; the Museum of Science and Industry (Tampa, Fla.); and The Franklin Institute (Philadelphia).

About The Tech Museum of Innovation

The Tech is a hands-on technology and science museum for people of all ages and backgrounds. The museum -- located in the Capital of Silicon Valley -- is a non-profit experiential learning resource established to engage people in exploring and experiencing applied technologies affecting their lives. Through programs such as The Tech Challenge presented by Cisco, our annual team-design competition for youth, and internationally renowned programs such as The Tech Awards presented by Applied Materials, The Tech endeavors to inspire the innovator in everyone.

About The Noyce Foundation

The Noyce Foundation was created by the Noyce family in 1990 to honor the memory and legacy of Dr. Robert N. Noyce, co-founder of Intel and inventor of the integrated circuit which fueled the personal computer revolution and gave Silicon Valley its name. The overriding goal of the Noyce Foundation is to help adults guide young people into productive lives. We seek to build effective supports in designed environments for adults who are seeking to guide children's healthy social and intellectual development. A critical experience for young people is significant time with supportive adults in activities that are interesting so they learn the value and pleasure of deep dives into subject matter, whether math, science projects, chess, birding, or the arts. These experiences build habits of work, belief in their own efficacy, and persistence skills that all kids, and especially those from low-income backgrounds, need to develop so they can navigate the range of environments that will face them as they mature.