Rocket Catcher Challenge—2025 Engineering Challenge Results
Build a Rocket-Catching Device to Help a Falling Rocket Land Vertically
The 2025 competition is over, but you can still try this challenge for fun! Can you build a rocket-catching device to help a falling rocket land vertically without crashing? With a simple materials list to build with, what is the highest falling distance your rocket can land safely?
Full details, including the building, testing, and scoring procedures, can be found in these four formats:
- Elementary School Rocket Catcher Challenge Lesson Plan
- Middle School Rocket Catcher Challenge Lesson Plan
- High School Rocket Catcher Challenge Lesson Plan
- Student Instructions for Rocket Catcher Challenge
Congratulations to All Participants
Over 12,300 students from 31 countries participated in the 2025 Science Buddies Rocket Catcher Engineering Challenge. Using limited materials such as paper towel tubes, cardboard, paper, string, paper clips, and tape students ages 6-18 built a wide range of rocket catcher devices to help a falling rocket land vertically without crashing.
The range of solutions and the perseverance of students was impressive! We saw a number of creative solutions, from parachutes to cone-shaped catchers. We heard from many students and teachers that teams pushed through the frustration of initial plans not panning out and kept going until they had a working solution. Many teams continued to refine their designs to improve their scores by dropping from higher and higher distances. Students were excited to see their creations come to life! Congratulations to each and every student who participated and a big thank you to the educators and parents who supported them!
My favorite part of the 2025 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge was seeing the students' creativity and problem-solving skills come to life. It was inspiring to watch them work through challenges and come up with innovative solutions!
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 2025 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge, each of these teams earned $1,000 USD for their school.
| Drawing Winners | |
|---|---|
| Team Name | School/Program |
| Milky Ways 2.0 | DeRidder Elementary School, DeRidder, LA, US |
| Alicia is cool | Saint Theresa School, New Cumberland, PA, US |
| Big Dawgs | The Moriah School, Englewood, NJ, US |
| TiMa | The Sequoyah School, Pasadena, CA, US |
| MAC | Logan School for Creative Learning, Denver, CO, US |
| Falcons 4-2 | Fort Settlement Middle School, Sugar Land, TX, US |
| happy blue frogs | Green Intermediate Elementary School, Uniontown, OH, US |
| Lucca | Putney Central School, Putney, VT, US |
| Rocket League | South Woods Elementary School, Elkton, FL, US |
| Carter Granados | South Gray High School, Montezuma, KS, US |
Top Scores Overall
Students' Rocket Catchers were scored based on the total fall distance 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 Rocket Catcher Challenge Scores (Overall) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | School/Program | Age (Average) | Score |
| The Jets | Johnson High School, San Antonio, TX, US | 16 | 1726 |
| WBHS Seth | Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, IL, US | 17 | 1388 |
| The Winners | Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, IL, US | 14 | 1385 |
| Polus | Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, IL, US | 18 | 1328 |
| Tower Twins | Global Village Academy Aurora, Aurora, CO, US | 12 | 1261 |
| The Rugby Warriors | Trinity Grammar Junior School, Sydney, AU | 11 | 1222 |
| AMER | Trinity Grammar Junior School, Sydney, AU | 11 | 1208 |
| dynamic designers | Johnson High School, San Antonio, TX, US | 17 | 1097 |
| M.S.H.Y | Johnson High School, San Antonio, TX, US | 16 | 1068 |
| The Sharks | Global Village Academy Aurora, Aurora, CO, US | 12 | 1052 |
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.)
This activity played a crucial role in helping students understand the importance of brainstorming, developing blueprints, and effectively communicating and sharing ideas. It also fostered critical thinking and problem-solving skills, allowing students to apply creativity and analytical reasoning in a hands-on learning environment. While the activity was engaging and enjoyable, it also provided valuable educational experiences that reinforced key STEM concepts.
| Top Rocket Catcher Challenge Scores – Up to and Including Age 10 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | School/Program | Age (Average) | Score |
| Young Brother | Trinity Grammar Preparatory School, Strathfield, AU | 6 | 828 |
| Chill Rocket | Trinity Grammar Preparatory School, Strathfield, AU | 10 | 815 |
| Rocket Masters | Trinity Grammar Preparatory School, Strathfield, AU | 9 | 807 |
| Potato Pals | Trinity Grammar Preparatory School, Strathfield, AU | 10 | 732 |
| Combat Rocket | Trinity Grammar Preparatory School, Strathfield, AU | 6 | 715 |
| Launch! | Trinity Grammar Preparatory School, Strathfield, AU | 10 | 704 |
| Catchers Win Matches | Trinity Grammar Preparatory School, Strathfield, AU | 10 | 678 |
| Henry | Freeman Academy, Freeman, SD, US | 9 | 641 |
| Sam 2 | Foshan Shunde East Coast Experimental Primary School, Foshan, CN | 10 | 539 |
| Kyle 2 | Foshan Shunde East Coast Experimental Primary School, Foshan, CN | 10 | 534 |
My favorite part of the 2025 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge was witnessing the creativity and teamwork among the students. It was inspiring to see them collaborate, brainstorm innovative solutions, and really engage with the engineering design process. Their enthusiasm and problem-solving skills truly shone through!
| Top Rocket Catcher Challenge Scores – Ages 11 - 14 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | School/Program | Age (Average) | Score |
| The Winners | Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, IL, US | 14 | 1385 |
| Tower Twins | Global Village Academy Aurora, Aurora, CO, US | 12 | 1261 |
| The Rugby Warriors | Trinity Grammar Junior School, Sydney, AU | 11 | 1222 |
| AMER | Trinity Grammar Junior School, Sydney, AU | 11 | 1208 |
| The Sharks | Global Village Academy Aurora, Aurora, CO, US | 12 | 1052 |
| Slavens - Green Goblin | Slavens K-8 School, Denver, CO, US | 14 | 979 |
| Slavens - Dahere | Slavens K-8 School, Denver, CO, US | 13 | 940 |
| Second Time's The Charm | Spain Park High School, Hoover, AL, US | 14 | 893 |
| 9D-4 | Monkton Senior School, Bath, Great Britain | 14 | 871 |
| Red Rocket | Spain Park High School, Hoover, AL, US | 14 | 863 |
I loved the whole process! From the students getting excited about the topic, to the brainstorming of all the fun and creative ideas, to the designing and creating, to the unsuccessful attempts and iterations, to finally having success! My students always have a blast using the Engineering Design Process. Thanks Science Buddies!!
| Top Rocket Catcher Challenge Scores – Ages 15 and Up | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | School/Program | Age (Average) | Score |
| The Jets | Johnson High School, San Antonio, TX, US | 16 | 1726 |
| WBHS Seth | Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, IL, US | 17 | 1388 |
| Polus | Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, IL, US | 18 | 1328 |
| Dynamic designers | Johnson High School, San Antonio, TX, US | 17 | 1097 |
| M.S.H.Y. | Johnson High School, San Antonio, TX, US | 16 | 1068 |
| The Crashouts | Young Magnet High School, Chicago, IL, US | 18 | 1003 |
| Group Three | Young Magnet High School, Chicago, IL, US | 18 | 987 |
| duppa suppa | Willowbrook High School, Villa Park, IL, US | 16 | 961 |
| The Rockettes | Young Magnet High School, Chicago, IL, US | 18 | 941 |
| Astronaut1 | Primary School No. 4, Kalisz, PL | 15 | 854 |
To view additional images from this year's challenge, including images from teams who earned a spot on the leaderboards, see Rocket Catcher Challenge Lands with More than 12,300 Students!
The People's Choice Showcase Award Winner!
New this year, the People's Choice Showcase featured entries from teams with an average age of 13 or older that opted in when submitting to the Rocket Catcher Challenge. Voting was open to the public.
The following team earned the most votes (❤️) and won the People's Choice Showcase Award:
- The Goopers, Tree of Life International Charter, Anderson, CA
