KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City nonprofit aSTEAM Village is launching a Stadium Design Challenge for students in 6-12th grades, inviting them to use and learn a variety of skills that would get their project to completion.

aSTEAM Village isn’t associated with any stadium that’s being built right now — or one that’s considering new places for a home. Founder William Wells said the project is designed to drive home technical skills and softer communication skills.

“We have math, financial literacy embedded in it. They have to go out and get investors. They have to come up with a budget; they have to present it,” Wells said.

“They have to go from basically a napkin all the way to a design and a model that they got investors to buy into and then they can build it.”

It gives students like Johari Primos a chance to take what they learn in classrooms outside.

“It’s a really good life experience to be able to interact with what’s going on in the world,” Primos said.

aSTEAM Village community outreach coordinator Megan Williams said learning how to use design software, budget a project, and communicate the minute details set kids up for the skills they’ll need when they start their careers.

“It’s going to be needed in our future because we’re going into a digital economy,” Williams said.

Kaden Hall-DeJesus was part of a similar challenge last year and said that kind of work makes him view the world around him differently.

“At first, you’re just putting down a rectangle and then you step back, and you realize your rectangle has turned into a full-on stadium with all these intricate details and it’s like, ‘Dang, I did that,” Hall-DeJesus said.

Students can register here until June 5. The challenge runs through July 28, with the winners announced on Aug. 24. The top prize will get $1,000; 2nd Place will get $500 and 3rd Place receives $250.