On Wednesday, October 21, the 2026 New Jersey School Board Association STEAM Tank Championship took place at the Atlantic City Convention Center. AIA New Jersey Past President Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, participated as a juror. AIA New Jersey and Ms. Kliesch have been supporting the NJSBA STEAM Tank since the program’s inception.
This year’s competition started with 680 teams. Three hundred thirty advanced to regionals last spring, and 50 teams participated in the final round in April, determining the qualifying championship students. While the high school winners were awarded in May, three elementary school teams and three middle school teams presented in Atlantic City for the top prize in their categories.
Elementary Finalists:
Oak Valley School in Depford presented Aqua Armor, a garden watering system made of bamboo and PVC. This team placed third.
Robert Gordon Elementary in Roselle Park presented the Fire Safe Teddy, a fire and smoke emergency kit designed to assist kids in staying safe and escaping a burning building in the event of an emergency. This team won the elementary competition!
Valley View School in Lebanon Township presented Spring Stick, an environmentally friendly, cost-saving, dexterity-positive glue stick. This team placed second.
Middle School Finalists:
Green Brook Middle School in Green Brook Township presented Hunger Haulers, a mobile food truck and social service idea designed to help individuals and families in need. This team placed third.
Demarest Middle School of Demarest Township presented Reed Claim Bioplastics, a system to rid NJ of the invasive Phragmites australis plant while repurposing the material into a plastic alternative. This team is the champion in the Middle School Category!
Garfield Middle School in Garfield presented InSINK, a modular, portable ecosystem designed to bring hydration, handwashing, filtration, and sanitation support to places without reliable plumbing. This team is back again from the 2025 competition with prototype 2.0. This team placed second.
The judges’ panel included, from left to right in the photo, above:
Dr. Derek Shendell, Professor and Director of New Jersey Safe Schools, Rutgers University
Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, Architect Representative of AIA NJ
Mike Buttita, STEM Innovation Specialist for the NJ DOE
Karen Woodruff, Ph.D., College of Education, Kean University
Cathy Lindenbaum, Past NJPTA President
and
Staci Greenberg, Interior & Design LLC
Event administrators include Rose Acerra, NJSBA STEAM Tank Consultant, on the far right of the featured photo, and Jennifer Siehl, Sr. Manager, NJSBA STEAM Tank Challenge.
Content Development
New Jersey School Boards Association
The judges listened to each presentation, examined the final submissions and asked follow-up questions.
Today’s competition was sponsored by Pearson.