2025 Make It Wow Engineering Challenge Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. VALID IN THE 50 UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ONLY. ENTRY IN THIS CONTEST CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

The Make It Wow Engineering Challenge (the “Contest“) is designed to encourage eligible families, teachers, and their classrooms (collectively referred to in these rules as “Entrant(s)” or “You“) to submit an engineering design following the instructions on the Contest Page as stated below. Judges will choose the winning entry, and prizes will be awarded in accordance with these Official Rules (these “Rules“).

BINDING AGREEMENT: To enter the Contest, you must agree to these Rules. Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entry to ensure that you understand and agree to them. You agree that submission of an entry in the Contest constitutes agreement to these Rules. You may not submit an entry to the Contest and are not eligible to receive the prizes described in these Rules, unless you agree to these Rules. These Rules form a binding legal agreement between you and Tinkercast, LLC with respect to the Contest.
ELIGIBILITY: This Contest is open only to parents, legal guardians, and teachers who are permanent, legal United States (“U.S.”) residents ages 18 years and older who physically reside in one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia. For purposes of this Contest, “teacher” is defined as educators who are currently employed by public, private, charter, homeschools or online-only schools. “Parent” and “legal guardian” are defined as a person who is legally responsible for the care and well-being of a minor. Offer is void where prohibited by law.
Educators who do not meet the definition of “teacher” stated above, residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and any other United States territories are not eligible to participate in this Contest. Officers, directors and employees of Tinkercast, LLC, their immediate families (spouses, parents (including step parents), children (including step children), siblings, in-laws, and any person living in the same households as these persons (whether such persons are related or not)), Tinkercast’s parent, affiliate, and subsidiary companies, judges of this contest, participating advertising and promotion agencies, and any other individual or entity involved in the development, administration, promotion or implementation of the Contest (and members of their immediate families and those living in the same household of each such persons (whether they are related or not)) (collectively, the “Sponsors”) are not eligible to enter and win the Contest.
SPONSOR: The Contest is sponsored by Tinkercast, LLC (“Tinkercast” or “Sponsor“), a New Jersey limited liability company with principal place of business at 41 Watchung Plaza, Suite 312, Montclair, NJ 07042, USA.
CONTEST PERIOD: The Contest begins on February 15, 2025, at 9:00 am Eastern Time (ET) Zone in the United States and ends on March 21, 2025, 11:59 pm Eastern Time (ET) Zone (“Contest Period”). All dates are subject to change. Engineering designs must be either uploaded to Tinkercast.com or received in the mail no later than March 21, 2025, to be considered submitted within the Contest Period. Engineering designs sent through the mail should be addressed to Tinkercast, c/o Make It Wow Engineering Challenge, 41 Watchung Plaza, Suite 312, Montclair, NJ 07042.
HOW TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. To enter the Contest, visit the Contest Page located at Tinkercast.com/MakeItWow (“Contest Page”) during the Contest Period and follow the instructions that appear on the Contest Page. You will be requested to complete an official entry form (“Entry Form”) with: (a) a video, photograph, or drawing as outlined in the instructions at Tinkercast.com/MakeItWow (“Presentation”); and (b) complete all information at the bottom of the Entry Form including parent or teacher’s acceptance of Contest Rules, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy. Entry Forms can only be submitted by Parents or Teachers. The Engineering Design must meet the “Engineering Design Requirements,” described below.
To submit an entry via the digital upload tool on the Contest Page, please follow the instructions on the Contest Page. Tinkercast is not responsible for illegible or incorrectly submitted entries made via the digital upload tool.
To submit an entry in hard-copy form, the entry form must be mailed in an envelope (packaged carefully so it won’t be damaged) with proper postage affixed, to Tinkercast, c/o Make It Wow Engineering Challenge, 41 Watchung Plaza, Suite 312, Montclair, NJ 07042, and received by March 21, 2025.
Entries received without a completed Entry Form will be disqualified.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS. Each ENTRANT may submit multiple engineering designs to represent different student work and for more chances to win. To be considered for the Contest, entries must be: (a) complete (as determined by Tinkercast); (b) received no later than 11:59 pm ET on March, 2025; and (c) in English (unless otherwise specified). Machine or computer-generated mass entries will be disqualified. Any submission not meeting the aforementioned criteria will be disqualified. Tinkercast accepts no responsibility for submissions lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid, howsoever caused. Proof of mailing does not constitute proof of entry. All entries will be deemed made by the Entrant upon receipt by Tinkercast.
ENGINEERING DESIGN REQUIREMENTS. Each Engineering Design must meet the following criteria (“Engineering Design Requirements”):
1. They must embody the theme of the Contest.
2. They must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libelous or contain any content that is inappropriate, indecent, sexual, profane, tortuous, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the Contest.
3. They must not contain content, material or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to all applicable federal, state, or local laws and regulation including the laws or regulations in any state where the Engineering Design is created.
4. They must not contain any content, material or element that displays any third-party advertising, slogan, logo, trademark, representation of characters indicating a sponsorship or endorsement by a third party, commercial entity or that is not within the spirit of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor, in its sole discretion.
5. They must be original, unpublished works that do not contain, incorporate or otherwise use any content, material or element that is owned by a third party or entity.
6. They cannot contain any content, element, or material that violates a third party’s publicity, privacy or intellectual property rights.
7. The Engineering Design is not the subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim.
8. The Entrant does not include any disparaging remarks relating to the Sponsor or a third party.
The submitted Engineering Design is a video, photograph, or drawing according to the instructions provided on the Contest Page. During the Contest Period, Tinkercast, its agents or the judges (defined below) will evaluate the Engineering Designs to ensure that they meet the Engineering Design Requirements. Tinkercast reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Entrant who submits an Engineering Design that does not meet the Engineering Design Requirements. Incomplete entries or entries not complying with these Rules are subject to disqualification.
JUDGING: Selected members of Tinkercast’s staff (the “Judges”) will evaluate and score each Podject Presentation based on the following “Criteria”:
1. Entrant’s inventiveness in designing a solution to a real problem faced by animals (50%);
2. The creativity, ingenuity and engineering skills exhibited by the Entrant in making the drawing or model of the invention (40%); and
3. Adherence to the Contest Requirements and these Rules (10%).
Using the above Criteria, there will be one (1) round in the judging process:
1. Round 1 – Staff Review: The Judges will review all timely submitted Engineering Designs and choose two (2) Engineering Designs that best satisfy criteria (a), (b), and (c) referenced in Paragraph 12 of these Rules, in Tinkercast’s sole discretion. The Judges will tally their scores and choose two (2) winners (“Winner”).
  1. Notification of Winner
    1. Tinkercast will notify the Winner on or before April 7, 2025 by telephone or e-mail.
    2. Winner must reply to the e-mail or telephone notification within 48 hours to claim the prize.
    3. Tinkercast will announce the Winner on or before April 7, 2025.
Tie-breaker: In the event of a tie at any level of judging, the judges will re-evaluate the tied Podject Presentations according to the Criteria and re-vote until the tie is broken.
Decisions of the Judges are final and binding. If a potential winner is unable for whatever reason to accept their prize, then Tinkercast reserves the right to award the prize to another Entrant.
Notification of Winner: Becoming the Winner is subject to validation and verification of eligibility and compliance with all the terms and conditions set forth in these Rules. If the Winner is disqualified for any reason, the Entrant that received the next highest total score will be chosen as the Winner (the “potential winner”). The potential winner will be selected and notified by email. If the potential winner does not respond to the notification within three (3) calendar days from the date of the first notification, then such potential winner may be disqualified, and an alternate potential winner will be selected from among all eligible entries received based on the judging Criteria described herein. Except where prohibited by law, the parent, guardian or teacher of each potential winner may be required to sign and return an affidavit and publicity release and provide any additional information that may be required by Tinkercast. If required, the parent, guardian or teacher of the potential winner must return all such required documents via electronic transmission (e.g., email, DocuSign, etc.), fax, or as otherwise instructed by Tinkercast, within forty-eight (48) hours and via U.S. Mail within seven (7) days following the date of the attempted notification by Tinkercast. If the potential winner fails to return the required documents in the specified time he or she will be deemed to have forfeited the prize and another potential winner may be selected based on the judging Criteria described in Paragraph 12 above. All notification requirements, as well as other requirements within these Rules, will be strictly enforced. Determinations of Judges are final and binding. All winners agree to keep the winning Engineering Designs strictly confidential between submission and the announcement of the winner and the Engineering Design’s reveal and launch on the Tinkercast.com website.
PRIZES: Tinkercast will draw two (2) winners for a grand prize of a virtual classroom visit from Mindy Thomas and a prize package including a signed copy of Wow in the Wild, a Sea Creator STEM Toy, and a portable speaker. Estimated retail value for each winner is $580. The Prize will be awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either expressed or implied by Sponsors.
Tinkercast will distribute the prize no later than June 30, 2025, unless otherwise stated. No transfer, substitution or cash equivalent for the prizes is allowed, except at Tinkercast’s sole discretion. The winner shall bear all responsibility for use of the prizes. Tinkercast reserves the right to substitute a prize, in whole or in part, of equal or greater monetary value if a prize cannot be awarded, in whole or in part, as described for any reason. Value is subject to market conditions, which can fluctuate and any difference between actual market value and actual retail value will not be awarded. The prize(s) may be subject to restrictions or licenses. The Winner shall bear all responsibility for use of the prize(s) in compliance with any conditions imposed by such manufacturer(s), and any additional costs associated with its use, service, or maintenance. Tinkercast has not made and is not responsible in any manner for any warranties, representations, or guarantees, express or implied, in fact or law, relating to the prize(s), regarding the use, value or enjoyment of the prize(s), including, without limitation, its quality, mechanical condition, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose, with the exception of any standard manufacturer’s warranty that may apply to the prize or any components thereto.
TAXES: AWARDS OF PRIZES TO POTENTIAL WINNERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE EXPRESS REQUIREMENT THAT THEY SUBMIT TO TINKERCAST ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUESTED BY TINKERCAST TO PERMIT IT TO COMPLY WITH ALL APPLICABLE STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL TAX REPORTING ALL PRIZES WILL BE NET OF ANY TAXES TINKERCAST IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO WITHHOLD. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ALL TAXES IMPOSED ON PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER. In order to receive a prize, the Winner must submit tax documentation requested by Tinkercast or otherwise required by applicable law, to Tinkercast or a representative for Tinkercast or the relevant tax authority, all as determined by applicable law. The Winner is responsible for ensuring that they comply with all the applicable tax laws and filing requirements. If the Winner or a potential winner fails to provide such documentation or comply with such laws, the prize may be forfeited and Tinkercast may, in its sole discretion, select an alternate potential winner.
GENERAL CONDITIONS: All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Tinkercast reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant from the Contest if, in Tinkercast’s sole discretion, it reasonably believes that the Entrant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other entrants, Tinkercast, or the Judges.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: As between Tinkercast and the Entrant, the Entrant retains ownership of all intellectual and industrial property rights (including moral rights) in and to the Engineering Design (excluding Tinkercast’s rights in any of its drawings, logos or trademarks that appear in the Engineering Design). As a condition of entry, Entrant grants Tinkercast a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, transferable, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, distribute, publicly perform, create a derivative work from, and publicly display the Engineering Design for any purpose, including display on the Tinkercast website, without any attribution or compensation to Entrant. Entries will not be returned. Tinkercast retains all rights in the Tinkercast products and services and entry into this Contest will in no case serve to transfer any Tinkercast intellectual property rights to the Entrant.
PRIVACY: Entrants agree and acknowledge that personal data submitted with an entry, including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used by Tinkercast and its affiliates for the purposes of conducting and administering the Contest. All personal information that is collected from Entrants is subject to Tinkercast’s Privacy Policy, located at: https://tinkercast.com/privacy-policy/. Individuals submitting personal information in connection with the Contest have the right to request access, review, rectification or deletion of any personal data held by Tinkercast in connection with the Contest by writing to Tinkercast at the following address: Tinkercast, LLC, 41 Watchung Plaza, Suite 312, Montclair, NJ 07042 Attn: Privacy Request, or sending an email to Hello@tinkercast.com.
PUBLICITY: By entering the Contest, each Entrant agrees to participate in any media or promotional activity resulting from the Contest as reasonably requested by Tinkercast at Tinkercast’s expense and agrees and consents to use of Entrant’s name and likeness by Tinkercast. Tinkercast will contact Entrants in advance of any Tinkercast-sponsored events or requests for interviews. Each Entrant also confirms that the Entrant has secured the necessary consent from the parents and/or guardians of their students to use such student’s work in connection with this Contest and that the consent permits Tinkercast to use such student’s work on the Internet and in other media for promotional activity resulting from this Contest.
The Engineering Designs may also be used for press and media purposes and Entrant agrees to waive any rights and not assert any intellectual property rights that Entrant has or may have in the Engineering Design. Tinkercast reserves the right to publish the name and likeness of the Winner and the students for which Winner has obtained signed parental consent on the Contest Page or through other media for publicity purposes.
WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY: Entrants warrant that their Engineering Design are their own original work and, as such, they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted Engineering Design and that they have the right to submit the Engineering Design in the Contest and grant all required licenses. Each Entrant agrees not to submit any Engineering Design that: (a) infringes any third party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade names, industrial designs, patent, trade secret, privacy, publicity or confidentiality obligations; or (b) otherwise violates applicable state, federal, or local law.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Entrant indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified Tinkercast at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omission of the Entrant or a breach of any warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Entrant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Tinkercast from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or accruing from: (i) any Engineering Design or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by Entrant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) any misrepresentation made by Entrant in connection with the Contest; (iii) any non-compliance by Entrant with these Rules; (iv) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Rules arising from or related to Entrant’s involvement with the Contest; (v) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Contest-related activity or participation in the Contest; (vi) any malfunction or other problem with the Contest Page in relation to the entry and participation in the Contest by Entrant; (vii) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of entry or voting information in relation to the entry and participation in the Contest by Entrant and in the voting process by consumers; or (viii) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any prize or winner in relation to the entry and participation in the Contest by Entrant.
ELIMINATION: Any false information provided within the context of the Contest by Entrant concerning identity, mailing address, telephone number, email address, ownership of right or non-compliance with these Rules or the like may result in the immediate elimination of the Entrant from the Contest.
INTERNET AND DISCLAIMER: Tinkercast is not responsible for any malfunction of the entire Contest Page or Tinkercast website or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed Engineering Designs or votes due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical or system/human errors and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Contest Page, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital or satellite malfunctions which may limit Entrant’s ability to participate or vote respectively. Tinkercast is not responsible for the policies, actions, or inactions of others, which might prevent Entrant from entering, participating, or claiming a prize in this Contest. Tinkercast’s failure to enforce any term of these Rules will not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. Tinkercast reserves the right to disqualify Entrants who violate the Rules or interfere with this Contest in any manner. If an Entrant is disqualified, Tinkercast reserves the right to terminate that Entrant’s eligibility to participate in the Contest.
RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY OR DISQUALIFY: If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, Tinkercast reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. Tinkercast further reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant who either directly or indirectly tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Contest or Contest Page. Any attempt by an Entrant to deliberately damage any web site, including the Contest Page, or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Tinkercast reserves the right to seek damages from any such Entrant to the fullest extent of the applicable law.
NOT AN OFFER OR CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT: Under no circumstances shall the submission of a Engineering Design into the Contest, the awarding of a prize, or anything in these Rules be construed as an offer or contract of employment with either Tinkercast, or the Contest Entities. Entrants acknowledge that they submitted the Entrant’s Engineering Design voluntarily and not in confidence or in trust. Entrants also acknowledge that no confidential, fiduciary, agency or other relationship or implied-in-fact contract now exists between Entrant and Tinkercast or the Contest Entities and that no such relationship is established by Entrant’s submission of a Engineering Design under these Rules.
FORUM AND RECOURSE TO JUDICIAL PROCEDURES: These Rules shall be governed by, subject to, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey, United States of America, excluding all conflict of law rules. If any provision(s) of these Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, seek injunctive relief or make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded, and Entrants expressly waive any and all such rights.
ARBITRATION: By entering the Contest, you agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute, claim, or demand related in any way to the Contest will be decided by binding arbitration. All disputes between you and Tinkercast of whatsoever kind or nature arising out of these Rules, shall be submitted to Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc. (“JAMS”) for binding arbitration under its rules then in effect in the Montclair, NJ, USA area, before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by both parties. The parties agree to share equally in the arbitration costs incurred.
WINNER’S LIST: You may request a list of winners after March 21, 2025 by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Tinkercast, LLC
Attn: Make It Wow Engineering Challenge
41 Watchung Plaza, Suite 312
Montclair, NJ 07042 USA

(Residents of Vermont need not supply postage).