About
The Ten80 STEM Initiative™ consists of STEM curriculum that can be used as CLUB, CAMP and core CLASS implementations. The Ten80-NSBE STEM League competition consists of a Face-to-Face (F2F) local and regional Invitationals for Racing and Autonomous Vehicle Challenges, and an optional national Web-Based Points Race. Students in grades 6 – 12 form Ten80 STEM Challenge teams that use either 1:10 or 1:16 scale cars and mimic professional motorsports teams.
For the Racing Challenge, cars come out of the kit fully operational, so the first weeks of engagement are spent learning how systems operate and how to organize data, rather than following build directions. After being certified in mechanical systems, data and problem-solving, students spend the duration of the program year modifying the car to improve performance.
For the Autonomous Vehicle Challenge, students practice their electromechanical skills to assemble the vehicle, and then turn to physical computing, incorporating sensors and a microcontroller to program the car to perform tasks such as lane-following and obstacle avoidance. In addition to engineering performance, teams for both categories are challenged to tackle Enterprise skills through the curriculum, including project management, marketing and business development.
NSBE’s Ten80 STEM Initiative finals take place at the NSBE Annual Convention where teams only compete with other NSBE chapter teams. After the conference, NSBE teams can earn invitations to the National Finals for Ten80 teams in spring, to compete with other teams across the US and China.
Registration
- Each team is entered into the Middle (grades 6-8) or High School (grades 9-12) series. If any single individual on a team is in grades 9-12, the team must be High School.
- Teams must be composed of active NSBE Jr. members.
- To activate your team, you MUST ALSO register or renew with Ten80 at this link.
- Teams: Minimum of FOUR (4) students and a maximum of FIFTEEN (15) students.
- Each team enters into one or more of the following competition series: Racing Challenge,
Autonomous Vehicle Challenge, and/or Online Points Race. - Attendance at the 2025 Annual Convention in Chicago, IL, March 5 – March 9, 2025, is required.
- Complete all application and registration requests before the deadlines.
- Chapter advisor and team coaches must provide a satisfactory NSBE background check by
applying here.
Critical Dates
Register with NSBE for Ten80-NSBE STEM League (REQUIRED)
Register your Ten80 team on www.ten80education.com and submit application here to compete at NSBE’s 2025 Annual Convention.
- Confirmation of participation will be sent by Friday, Jan 24, 2025.
Acquire access to Ten80 Education™ Curriculum (REQUIRED)
Open from September 1, 2024 to January 28, 2025. Link
2024-25 Season Orientation and Training Webinars with Ten80
Refer to the calendar at the following link: Ten80 Calendar
Ten80 Points Race
Follow it here.
NSBE FRC Ten80 Workshops
- Region 1 FRC Stamford, CT – Nov 16, 2024 (not confirmed)
- Region 2 FRC Philadelphia – November 2, 2025
- Region 3 FRC Birmingham – November 9, 2025
- Region 6 FRC San Diego – November 23, 2025 (not confirmed)
National Competition
NSBE-Ten80 Nationals at 2025 Annual NSBE Convention
(REQUIRED- Register with NSBE for Convention AND Register with Ten80 for the competition)Convention: March 5-9, 2025
Competition Date: Thursday March 6 – Friday, March 7, 2025 in Chicago
Black Excellence Engineered™
The membership fee is $5 annually. There may be additional chapter and regional dues you have to pay to be considered a fully active member.
If you have any questions, please contact NSBE's Membership and Registration team at membership@nsbe.org.