(LEXINGTON, KY) – Thousands of students showcased technology projects during the 2025 Kentucky Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) State Championship at Rupp Arena in Lexington on April 23.

Run by the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KDE’s) Office of Education Technology, STLP uses project-based learning, technology utilization and digital content creation to empower student achievement. Education leaders, volunteers and vendor partners help put on the annual championship event.

Below is a collection of scenes from the event. All photos were taken by KDE Information Office Supervisor Joe Ragusa.

A crowd of people walks under a banner that says "STLP State Championship: Student Technology Leadership Program"

A crowd of more than 20,000 people begins to fill Rupp Arena and Central Bank Center in Lexington for the 2025 STLP State Championship

A woman talks to another woman while sitting next to a sign that reads, "STLP State Championship: Ask Me"

Candy Johnson, an STLP volunteer who works with KDE’s Office of Education Technology, helps an STLP visitor figure out where they’re supposed to go.

A student crouches under a TV monitor and plugs cords in

Ethan Gibson, a sophomore at the Floyd County School of Innovation, sets up a TV monitor to display his group’s project, using digital technology to showcase the history of women’s basketball in Kentucky. Gibson said he hopes to work in computer science, programming or electrical engineering after college.

Two men work to setup an STLP project display, labeled "OC Personal Hygiene"

Tim Marcum, left, Owen County school district STLP lead, and Adam Gaines, mayor of Owenton and the parent of a student in the district, help setup the Owen County High School STLP project, titled “Sensing the Needs of OC Students.”

Three people look at a computer

Apollo High School (Daviess County) sophomore Elijah Davis, middle, speaks with fellow sophomores Heath Smith, left, and Kassi Hirt while setting up their STLP project, titled “Aerospace Summer Camp.”

A group of kids sit on the ground under their STLP project display. They're smiling and doing various poses as a person takes a photo of them

A group of students from Second Street Elementary School (Frankfort Independent) pose for a group photo after setting up their STLP project display.

Robbie Fletcher speaks to a couple students

Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher speaks with students from Lawrence County High School.

Two girls hold iPads as they watch several robots play a miniaturized version of soccer

Caroline Onan, left, a 5th-grade student from Bowen Elementary School (Jefferson County) and Marlee Grannis, a 5th-grade student from Hillsboro Elementary School (Fleming County), play the soccer game included in the Robot World exhibit.

A girl holds an iPad and watches a robotic car navigate an obstacle course made up of small tires as another girl watches from behind a railing

Summer Mitchum, a 4th-grade student from Simmons Elementary School (Woodford County), navigates a robot through the off-roading track at Robot World.

A group of four people - two girls, one of which is holding an iPad, a grown man and a boy holding an iPad - watch as the kids navigate a couple of robotic balls through a mini-golf course hole made up to look like a collection of large hollowed-out crayons

Rylee Tyler and Jula Altes, 5th-grade students at Old Mill Elementary School (Bullitt County), play one of the robot mini-golf holes at Robot World as Rylee’s father, Dustin, cheers them on.

A group of students talk to a pair of STLP judges

Lafayette High School (Fayette County) students present their project, “Compatible Controllers,” to an STLP judge. Senior Nishad Joshi said the project, a series of foot pedals designed so people with disabilities can play video games or access other computer applications without a handheld controller, came about because one of his peers in the class had a physical impairment affecting his hands. “We wanted to come up with a solution that would be more accessible for more people,” he said, “and we came up with this as the most widely-accessible solution.”

Three people stand on a podium as one speaks into a microphone and the other two wear capes. They are all holding pieces of paper.

KDE STLP Statewide Lead Jeff Sebulsky announces who advanced to the finals of the competition.

Students from Fairdale High School smile and clap as they react to being named an STLP finalist

Students from Fairdale High School (Jefferson County) react to being named an STLP finalist.

Three people, including a child in the middle, watch a toy car race down a track

Nyasia Davis, a 4th-grade student at Alex R. Kennedy Elementary (Jefferson County), watches her car race down the track in the Racing for the Future exhibit with STLP volunteers Dan Gorman and Jennifer Devine, both of KDE’s Office of Education Technology.

A man wearing a KET Education shirt works an iPad as two girls hold microphones in front of a green screen

Erik Beckman, a customer service and accounts coordinator for KET, sets up KET Education’s green screen display, where they teach kids about visual technology.

Two students hold up a robot as one of the student points to a computer display on the robot and the other holds a laptop

Luke Hall, left, and Brody Napier, sophomores at the Floyd County School of Innovation, examine their robot during the Robot Cross Out competition. Hall said he plans to pursue engineering in college and participating in the competition helped him learn about his strengths and weaknesses. “It’s a good thing to learn what you’re good at, what you’re not good at, if you’re good at coding, or if you’re good at building; just get a feel for it,” he said.

Two kids watch a robot as it travels along a white line on a table while two adults talk to each other in the background

Judah Owens, left, and Noah Goodin, 5th-grade students at G.C. Burkhead Elementary School (Hardin County), watch their robot follow the path in the Robot Royale: Follow the Line competition. “We were coding robots to go across the line using the color sensor and it was really fun,” Owens said. “And we ran pretty fast.”

Four students, including one wearing a light on his head and another wearing a large-brim hat, talk to a contest judge about their project, which sits at their feet; a couple of LEGO robotic cars and a track leading to a box designed to look like the entrance to a coal mine

Students from Monroe County Middle School – from left, 6th-grader Levi Burge, 8th-grader Jaxon Jones, 7th-grader Knox McClendon and 6th-grader Korbin Case – explain their entry in the LEGO STEAM Superpower! competition. Jones said they built a robot with LEGO pieces to show how coal can be extracted from mines safely, adding to his interest of working in coal mine engineering. “Hopefully we have these types of things to help us out,” he said.