Sphero Global Challenge

Presented by STEM It Up Sports

Join the ultimate STEM competition for its 5th season, Sphero Time Travelers! The Sphero Global Challenge is a competition that inspires creativity, innovation, and teamwork. With Events for PK–8th grade students of all ability levels, this journey through time will challenge your learners to wormhole their way through complex problems and work together as a team to achieve success.

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Sphero Time Travelers

Welcome to The Sphero Global Challenge Season 5: Sphero Time Travelers.
We have three Events to choose from to allow kids and young teens to go deeper with computational thinking, engineering, and programming skills.

The Sphero Global Challenge allows students to compete no matter where teams are located!
Students worldwide can compete virtually, while teams in select locations can attend a regional invitational in person.

2024/2025 Season 5: Three Unique STEM Events

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indi: Jurassic Journey

Age Brackets

Early Elementary (Ages 4-8)chevron_right

Skills

Students will create a time-traveling machine to transport indi to the past, where indi will follow a dinosaur for a day and demonstrate their understanding of:

• Problem Solving
• Algorithmic Thinking
• Basic Coding Concepts
• Pattern Recognition

What You'll Need

• 1 Sphero indi Student Kit per group (sold separately)
• Various craft supplies (available in Sphero Craft Pack)
• Video recording device (such as a smartphone)
• Optional: Access to Sphero Edu Jr app
• Optional: Compatible iOS/Android device
• Optional: Sphero Craft Pack

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BOLT/BOLT+: Time Travel Odyssey

Age Brackets

Upper Elementary (Ages 8-11)chevron_right

Middle School (Ages 11-14)chevron_right

Skills

Students take BOLT/BOLT+ and Blueprint on a journey through time, completing fun and challenging Missions in the past, present, and future— while learning different skills, including:

• Loops
• Conditionals
• Variables
• Functions

What You'll Need

• 2 Sphero BOLT or BOLT+ robots per group (sold separately)
• 1 Sphero Global Challenge Season 5 Blueprint Kit (sold separately)
Maze and Grid Code Mat (recommended not required; Coaching Guide provides alternatives & printable instructions)
• 6’ x 9’ hard & flat surface for the Competition Field + materials for marking the field
• Video recording device (such as a smartphone)
• 2 programming devices with the Sphero Edu app installed

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RVR+: Portal Through Time

Age Brackets

Upper Elementary (Ages 8-11)chevron_right

Middle School (Ages 11-14)chevron_right

Skills

Students will program RVR+ to transport supplies and autonomously navigate through time and space through five Mission Objectives that develop programming skills, including:

• Loops
• Conditionals
• Variables
• Functions

What You'll Need

• 1 Sphero RVR+ or RVR robot per group (sold separately)
• 1 Sphero Global Challenge Season 5 Blueprint Kit (sold separately)
1 RVR+ Blueprint Plate (recommended but optional, sold separately)
• 6’ x 9’ hard & flat surface for the Competition Field + materials for marking the field
• Video recording device (such as a smartphone)
• 1 programming device with the Sphero Edu app installed

Important Dates

Virtual Submissions

May 15, 2024
Registration Opens

September 24, 2024
Coaches Kickoff Webinar (watch recording here)

January 14, 2025
Office Hours Webinar for Coaches

February 3, 2025
Registration Deadline (virtual submissions)

February 14, 2025
Virtual Submissions Due

April 21 - May 1, 2025
Sphero World Championships - where finalists get their moment in the spotlight with our judges for a brief and exciting evaluation period.

In Person Competitions

Teams may be able to compete in person! Learn more about which cities are hosting in-person competitions and see important dates here.

To register for the in-person competitions, please make your tournament selection on the Registration Site. Registration for in-person competitions closes two weeks before the day of competition below.

Regional Invitationals

Portland - 11/23/24

Houston - 11/9/24

Miami - 12/14/24

State Tournaments

Australia - 11/22/24

Kuwait - 1/18/25

Washington, DC (indi Only) - 2/1/2025

Dallas - 2/22/25

Miami - 2/22/25

Italy - 2/27/25

Kansas City - 3/1/25

Houston - 3/8/25

Hawaii - 3/8/25

Gather Your Chrononaut Crew!

Starting a team to embark on a journey through time is easier than you think! Coaches do not need to be programmers or educators to support students through the Sphero Global Challenge. Instead, they act as facilitators as students work to explore, solve problems, and let their creativity shine!

The Coaching Guides will give you the tools and structure to guide your students through each event. The Sphero Global Challenge is perfect for after-school programs, STEM/STEAM Clubs, school-day science blocks, or even for students to work on at home.

Structuring Your Team

Teams can consist of 1–5 students. After purchasing the registration, you will be emailed a redemption code, which you can use to register your team on the official Sphero Global Challenge site. For larger groups, we recommend forming multiple teams. In this case, you need to purchase a registration and enter a redemption code for each team separately. Coaches are welcome to lead as many teams as they'd like.

Team Roles

We encourage students to take on a role for the competition (or switch them for each Mission Objective) to establish a sense of agency.

Suggested roles could include, but are not limited to, the following:

ProgrammerEngineerDebuggerDesignerMission Manager

A Challenge That’s FUN

“Be ready for a challenge, but it's a really fun one. You should still do it even if you don’t know how to code. Overcoming all the unexpected challenges and figuring it out is the best part.”

–Team 23983A, The Sphero Heroes

Have Questions?

Check out our SGC FAQs or reach out to competitions@sphero.com!