STEM to the Rescue Contest!
Use your creativity and STEM skills to help shelter pets find loving homes.
🐾 What Is This Contest?
Every year, millions of pets in shelters around the world are waiting to be adopted. Many never find a home. Remember Me Thursday®, run by Helen Woodward Animal Center, brings people together to spread the word about pet adoption.
This contest invites you to use science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) to come up with a creative idea that helps shelter pets get adopted — and win prizes while doing it!
🏆 Prizes
1st Place
$500 for you + $500 donation to a shelter you choose!
2nd Place
Prize coming soon!
3rd Place
Prize coming soon!
😿 Problems We’re Trying to Solve
🌟 Project Ideas for Younger Students
🏠 Build a Pet Habitat Model
Create a mini model of a home or yard designed for a dog or cat. Think about what that specific breed needs — a big Husky needs more space than a tiny Pomeranian! Use recycled materials like cardboard, plastic bottles, or old fabric.
📤 Submit: A video, PowerPoint, or document with photos explaining what you made and why.
📣 Pet Adoption Awareness Campaign
Create something to share on social media (with a guardian’s help) to encourage people to adopt pets. You could make a fun video pretending to be a news anchor, design a poster, or create a social media post. Be creative!
📤 Submit: A video, flyer, social post (with screenshots), or PowerPoint explaining your idea.
📖 Write an Adoption Storybook
Make a storybook — digital or hand-drawn — about a shelter pet’s journey to finding a home. It can be fiction or non-fiction. Share the pet’s story in a way that makes people want to adopt!
📤 Submit: A video reading, PowerPoint, or document with pictures. (7th grade and up can also make a short film!)
🚀 Project Ideas for Older Students
💻 Build a Pet Adoption Website or Social Media Page
Create a website or social media page (on Wix, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc.) that shows pets available for adoption and teaches people about responsible pet care. You can build it on a phone or computer — your choice!
📤 Submit: A video walkthrough, PowerPoint, or document with screenshots explaining your project.
📊 Pet Adoption Data Analysis
Collect and study real data about pet adoption — things like how many pets get adopted, which types of animals find homes fastest, and why. Use resources like Shelter Animals Count or ASPCA to find data.
📤 Submit: A video, PowerPoint, or document showing your data and what you learned from it.
🎙️ Record a Pet Adoption Podcast Episode
Create one podcast episode about shelter pets! You could share adoption stories, interview volunteers, talk about pet care, or even give pretend interviews with animals using fun made-up voices. Share how and why you’d keep making more episodes.
📤 Submit: A video of your episode, plus an explanation of your idea and how it connects to pet adoption.
📋 How to Enter
Saturday, September 13th, 2025
Don’t wait — start your project today!