Unboxed™ is an exciting, hands-on STEM experience created by Michigan Tech’s Center for Educational Outreach. Designed to bring the spirit of innovation and exploration directly to classrooms and communities, Unboxed™ delivers interactive STEM challenges and activities through engaging kits and digital resources. Each “box” unlocks opportunities for students to explore science, technology, engineering, and math with real-world applications, sparking curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. Whether building prototypes, experimenting with new concepts, or solving complex problems, Unboxed inspires the next generation of innovators by making STEM accessible, fun, and unforgettable.
What is Unboxed™?
Progressive Scenario-Based Puzzles
Challenges put students in role-playing scenarios with objectives like navigating an asteroid belt, communicating with aliens, and fixing technical issues with their ship in the Galaxy theme, and decoding binary, creating circuits, and using UV lights as undercover agents in the CIA theme.
Self-Contained for Scalability
From individual classrooms to a gym filled with tables, Unboxed™ challenges kits are self-contained allowing us to scale events to impact as many students as possible.
Designed for Diverse Skillsets
Each theme is carefully designed to allow students with different strengths to each contribute in meaningful ways.
The "Out-of-the-Box" Outreach Students Need
Unboxed™ challenges are the engaging, hands-on activities students need, reinforcing concepts they are learning in the classroom while shaking up the day-to-day and developing critical skills for their futures.
Past Unboxed™ Event Photos
Help Support Unboxed™ in Your Community!
If you feel your students, educators, or organization would benefit from an Unboxed™ event, please reach out to us at outreach@mtu.edu.