Houston, TX (May 15, 2017)– Houston based, C-STEM Teacher and Student Support Services (C-STEM), a leading national nonprofit, exposing low-income children of color to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, is hosting the National C-STEM Challenge. This free, family-friendly event will be held on Saturday, May 20, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Heath Museum of Houston, located at 1515 Hermann Drive, Houston, TX 77004.

Hip-hop mogul, Russell Simmons, is sponsoring one of the teams heading to Houston for this competition. More than 1,000 children Pre-K to 12th grade, from C-STEM programs across the country, will compete in areas of robotics, innovation, computer programming, art, film, photography, mural, sculpture and debate. Students will be judged on a certain list of pre-determined criteria. The Russell Simmons group, out of Detroit, is bringing eight children.

“This is the largest national STEM competition in the country where 80-percent of the contestants are minorities and at least 50-percent are girls, says Dr. Reagan Flowers, founder and CEO of C-STEM Teacher and Students Support Services. By joining forces with Russell Simmons and RushCard, and other sponsors, we are giving the youth a chance to become thought leaders and innovators in STEM.”

C-STEM began as an initiative back in 2002, when Flowers, then teaching science at Jack Yates Senor High School, wrote a grant to NASA to build a robot. Fueled by her love for teaching and ambition to excite kids about the world and opportunities of a STEM education, Flowers, lead the first robotics team into competition at Yates. That competition was the catalyst for Flowers to turn C-STEM into a research project in her doctoral program and ultimately an organization that has influenced more than 200,000 students and generated more than $10 million for its educational programs.

This year’s sponsors include, Shell Corporation, RSM Foundation, Women’s Energy Network of Houston, Flour and RushCard.

For more information on C-STEM Teacher and Student Support Services and the National C-STEM Competition please visit www.CSTEM.org or call 713-443-4521.