America 250 Design Challenge

The Overview

The National Medal of Honor Heritage Center is launching an America 250 Design Challenge from the “Birthplace of the Medal of Honor” for the 2025-2026 school year! Focused on engaging K-12 student teams (3-4 students per team) in storytelling and the engineering design process, we’re connecting students to several real-world careers—a Visual Content Creator, Illustrator, Ventriloquist, Children’s Book Author, Graphic Novelist/Graphic Novelist Coordinator, Educator, and Senior Product Designer!

Students will explore the history of our nation’s highest military and space decorations—the Medal of Honor (MOH) and Space MOH—and consider the defining values the Medals represent. With over 3,500 MOH and Space MOH Recipients to choose from, students will select one Recipient as the focus for this challenge.

Working in teams and utilizing the engineering design process, students will craft a short story (elementary teams) or short graphic novel (secondary teams) centered on their selected Recipient, create their own MOH or Space MOH Recipient finger puppet, and produce a video which includes their short story or graphic novel and finger puppet.

This design challenge is competitive and includes monetary prizes. One student team will be selected from each grade band category as the winning team. The monetary prize will be awarded to the classroom/school of the winning student team from each category.

Register HERE!
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Idea

Medal of Honor and Space Medal of Honor Recipient stories are more than just stories about war and space exploration. They capture the spirit of what it means to put service before self and to embrace curiosity. Their stories remind us all Americans, while ordinary, are capable of the extraordinary.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

America 250 MOHHC Design Challenge

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What can we learn from Americans who have come before us?

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How can past American stories inspire future American stories?

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How can we creatively tell stories about the American spirit?

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What role do Children’s Book Authors, Graphic Novelists, Illustrators, Senior Product Designers, Ventriloquists, Educators, and Visual Content Creators play in communicating our nation’s history?

The Challenge

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Design Challenge Career Connections & Resources

Explore the various careers associated with this Design Challenge and curated resources!

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Product ONE | Short Story OR Graphic Novel

Meet award-winning children’s book author, Rita Lorraine Hubbard, Joseph Craig, Director | Book Program at Association for the United States Army, and Chase Walker, children’s book illustrator at My Goose Media! Hear how they approach nonfiction writing and storytelling through art visuals, and gain insights on how to leverage the skillsets of your team members for this design challenge product.

*The National Medal of Honor Heritage Center does not endorse any source creator provided.

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Product TWO | Finger Puppet & Bio Tag

Meet Eric Doctor, Senior Product Designer at The Unemployed Philosophers Guild, Matthew Craig, educator and eLab Specialist in the Hamilton County (TN) School District, and Lesha Everett, a vivacious ventriloquist! Hear how they approach puppet creation and giving voice to characters respectfully. Gain insights on how to leverage the skillsets of your team members for this design challenge product.

 

*The National Medal of Honor Heritage Center does not endorse any source creator provided.

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Product THREE | Video

Meet Luke Chandler, Creative Director at ChattRbox Studios! Hear how he approaches storytelling through videography. Gain insights on how to capture special moments which move audiences as you work on this design challenge product.

 

*The National Medal of Honor Heritage Center does not endorse any source creator provided.

Career Connection Interviews

Watch Each Full Interview Here

Design Challenge Products

ELEMENTARY TEAMS

Elementary teams (K-5th Grade), pitch ONE MOH OR Space MOH Recipient for a new National Medal of Honor Heritage Center children’s book! Your task is to research one MOH or Space MOH Recipient, and utilizing the template provided, write a short story about your selected MOH or Space MOH Recipient. Include one or more of the character values associated with the Medal in your story: courage, commitment, integrity, sacrifice, patriotism, and citizenship. Consider what illustrations might best help capture your Recipient’s story, and create your own within the template provided.

*It is expected student teams will complete this work without the use of AI tools and other outside assistance. Student teams must choose a Medal of Honor Recipient who is NOT currently featured in any of the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center’s children’s books (i.e. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Ray Duke, Desmond Doss, George Jordan, Alvin York, Arthur MacArthur, Jacob Parrott, Joseph Adkison, Ralph Puckett, Paul Huff, Teddy Roosevelt, Larry Taylor, and Ronald McNair). Review the associated rubric. Several resources are provided below as a research and idea generation launch point.

 

SECONDARY TEAMS

Secondary teams (6th–12th), pitch ONE MOH OR Space MOH Recipient for a new National Medal of Honor Heritage Center graphic novel! Your task is to research one MOH or Space MOH Recipient and, following the template provided, write a short graphic novel about your selected Recipient. Include one or more of the character values associated with the Medal in your story: courage, commitment, integrity, sacrifice, patriotism, and citizenship. Consider what illustrations might best help capture your Recipient’s story, and create your own within the template provided.

*It is expected student teams will complete this work without the use of AI tools and other outside assistance. If student teams choose an Army Medal of Honor Recipient, the Recipient must NOT be currently featured in a graphic novel created by the Association of the United States Army. Review the associated rubric. Several resources are provided below as a research and idea generation launch point.

ALL GRADE BANDS

1) Finger Puppet Prototype | Pitch a new MOH or Space MOH Recipient finger puppet to the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center! Using the engineering design process, historical references for accuracy, and various materials of your choosing, create your own finger puppet prototype of the Recipient you selected for your short story or graphic novel.

 

2) Bio Tag | Craft a short bio in 65 words or less for your MOH or Space MOH Recipient finger puppet which concisely captures the highlights of his or her life. See the finger puppets supplied to you as reference.

 

*It is expected student teams will complete this work without the use of AI tools and other outside assistance. Student teams must use the same Medal of Honor or Space Medal of Honor chosen in Round One. Review the associated rubrics. Several resources are provided below as a research and idea generation launch point.

ALL GRADE BANDS

Create a video with a length of THREE MINUTES MAX (or less) introducing your finger puppet, quickly sharing your Recipient’s story, and explaining how your Recipient’s actions capture the American Spirit. Utilize the templates provided to script and storyboard your video.

Key Term 

American Spirit: Courage to stand for what we believe in, commitment to a cause greater than ourselves, and a willingness to sacrifice for others to advance the American Project with integrity

 

*It is expected student teams will complete this work without the use of AI tools and other outside assistance. No copyrighted footage or photos may be utilized. Sources of footage and photos, if utilizing public domain content, must be provided/attributed.

America 250 MOHHC Design Challenge Timeline

  • September 15, 2025

    Design Challenge LAUNCH!

  • November 14, 2025

    Registration CLOSES!

  • January 16, 2026

    ROUND ONE | Short Story/Graphic Novel DUE

  • January 30, 2026

    ROUNE ONE | Announcement of Advancement

  • February 27, 2026

    ROUND TWO | Finger Puppet & Bio Tag DUE

  • March 13, 2026

    ROUND TWO | Announcement of Advancement

  • April 3, 2026

    ROUND THREE | Video DUE

  • April 17, 2026

    ROUND THREE | Announcement of Advancement

  • May 9, 2026

    Design Challenge FINAL COMPETITION at the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center (Chattanooga, TN)

Register & Download!


Register for the Design Challenge HERE
Download Your Design Challenge Packet HERE

Frequently Asked Questions


Who can participate?

K-12 public and private school students may participate in this design challenge.

How much prize money is involved?

K-2 | $2,500 (Classroom of winning student team receives prize) 3-5 | $2,500 (Classroom of winning student team receives prize) 6-8 | $5,000 (School of winning student team receives prize) 9-12 | $5,000 (School of winning student team receives prize)

Are students required to work in teams?

Yes. Student teams of 3-4 students are strongly encouraged for collaboration purposes.

Can there be more than 4 students on a team?

No.

Are there any material requirements for the prototypes?

There are no material requirements for the prototypes. The National Medal of Honor Heritage Center recognizes not all teams will have access to digital fabrication tools and/or a wide range of materials for prototype design and creation.

The Commitment Letter states, “Our expectation is that students complete each product during each Round without outside assistance.” Does this mean we can receive absolutely no outside help on our design challenge products?

Essentially, we do not want adults, experts, or Artificial Intelligence (AI) doing the work for you.
This challenge is for you and your teammates.
The requested design challenge products are for you
to dream up and create.
If you are using equipment for fabrication purposes
and need help with that equipment, then, yes, outside assistance is acceptable.
At the end of the day, you will know deep down if your team is being honest throughout the process.
Integrity is important to us.

Important Documents