Oct 24, 2024 By Team YoungWonks *
This guide will provide an overview of major national and international STEM competitions for U.S. students. It will cover eligibility, contest formats, submission requirements, cash prizes, and other key details to help students pick contests to participate in. Let's explore some of the most prestigious and rewarding STEM competitions out there!
VEX Robotics Competition
• Over 15,000 teams worldwide. Middle and high school students.
• Design, build, and program a robot for head-to-head matches against other teams. Robots complete tasks like throwing balls into goals or stacking cubes.
• Live local and state tournaments lead up to national and world championship events with in-person judging.
• Regional and national winning teams receive trophies, publicity, and sometimes cash prizes and scholarships.
• Provides real-world engineering challenge and team collaboration experience.
FIRST Robotics Competition
• 3,000 teams globally for ages 14-18. High schoolers must be in grades 9-12.
• 6-week timeline to build a robot from a common kit of parts and compete in live tournaments.
• Robot games involve scoring balls into goals, hanging on bars, and teamwork in alliances. Games change annually.
• Teams work alongside professional mentors. Winning teams earn multi-thousand dollar scholarships.
• Gives technical and problem-solving skills. Can lead to internships and connections.
Regeneron Science Talent Search
• High school seniors complete an original independent STEM research project.
• Submissions are judged based on the student’s scientific research report. Only 300 applicants are selected as scholars and finalists.
• The top 10 finalists are invited to Washington, D.C. to attend final judging and Congressional meetings.
• Awards range from $25,000 to $250,000 for top scholars. Prestigious regeneron sts boosts college apps.
• Produces publishable level research and cultivates scientific curiosity.
Microsoft Imagine Cup
• Microsoft's global competition for high school and college students in computer science and coding.
• Competitors form teams and develop an app or technology that addresses a social issue like healthcare, agriculture, or environment.
• Submissions include a report, demo video, and presentation before live judges.
• National finalists compete at the global finals. Top teams win mentoring, cash prizes, world tours and internships.
• Develops coding abilities and practice working on technology with social impact.
International Science & Engineering Fair
• Massive annual science fair and competition hosted in U.S. cities for 9th-12th grade students.
• Nearly 2,000 students from over 75 countries compete. ~600 projects across disciplines.
• Students exhibit their research and compete within STEM categories judged by expert evaluators.
• Top winners earn up to $75,000 in scholarships and are invited to prestigious awards ceremonies. High caliber networking opportunity.
• Prepares students for the world of scientific research conferences and publications.
ExploraVision
• K-12 students work in teams of 2-4 to create and explore technology that could exist in 20 years.
• Each team submits a written paper, 16-minute video, model/display, and Q&A responses explaining their future tech.
• National winners earn U.S. Savings Bonds up to $240,000 and an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.
• Fosters critical thinking, scientific research, and collaboration skills.
National STEM League
• Online competition for middle and high school students to showcase STEM projects.
• Individuals or teams submit a STEM-related project in categories like environmental science, engineering, energy, technology, mathematics, health sciences.
• Projects are judged virtually, with top national winners invited to present live at Nationals. Cash prizes up to $2,500.
• Opportunity to get wide exposure for STEM projects with flexibility.
Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)
• Research competition for high school students culminating in regional and national events.
• Students research and present on STEM topics before a live symposium and panel review.
• Regional winners earn scholarships and an expenses-paid trip to compete nationally in Washington, D.C.
• National finalists can win up to $12,000 in college scholarships. Fosters advanced research skills.
eCYBERMISSION
• U.S. Army led STEM competition for 6th-9th grade teams to develop solutions to real-world problems.
• Teams pick a problem, research it, hypothesize solutions, test and build a prototype, then submit their work online.
• National winners attend an awards ceremony and STEM summer camp. Develops the scientific method mindset through hands-on projects.
Congressional App Challenge
• Students create and submit original apps for desktop/mobile to their U.S. House Rep.
• Apps are judged by Congressional committees. Top app from each district invited to Capitol Hill.
• Winning app developers earn national recognition, tech opportunities, and sometimes cash prizes.
• Gives students full life cycle software development practice and potential mentorship from tech leaders.
National STEM Video Game Challenge
• Students design original games focused on STEM content for mobile, console, computer, or web.
• Games are judged based on playability, visual aesthetics, STEM content integration, fun.
• Winners across middle school and high school divisions earn cash, games showcased by the Smithsonian, trips, tech internships.
• Motivates STEM learning through gaming and game design skill development.
Conrad Challenge
• Annual competition for students ages 13-18 to innovatively address global issues.
• Individual or team projects relate to aerospace, cyber technology/security, energy and environment, health and nutrition.
• Submissions include videos, presentations, reports, and prototypes. Regional finalist teams travel to DC for live judging.
• Winners earn cash prizes from $5,000 to $15,000, trips to meet scientists, and patents.
• Develops skills in innovation, scientific research, communication, and entrepreneurship.
Technovation Challenge
• Global app competition for girls ages 10-18 focusing on entrepreneurship and coding.
• Girls work in teams to develop a mobile app that addresses a community issue. Can partner with nonprofits.
• Submissions include app code, marketing materials, business plans and videos. Regional winners present live.
• Cultivates technology skills, teamwork, leadership, and social impact among girls. Regional winners get cash prizes.
Toshiba ExploraVision
• Project for K-12 students imagining future technology that could exist in 20 years.
• Teams outline the current problem, technological advances to create their tech, benefits, and development timeline.
• Submissions include a written paper, 4-minute video, and web graphics. Judges provide feedback.
• National winners earn U.S. Savings Bonds. Fosters early interest in innovation and entrepreneurship.
MIT THINK Scholarship
• Art and writing competition for high school juniors related to STEM.
• Students submit a piece of original writing or artwork that intersects creativity with science.
• Representatives from MIT evaluate entries based on originality, skill, and creative engagement with science.
• Winning students receive scholarship money for education expenses and are invited to an event at MIT.
• Showcases STEM through creative mediums and rewards artistic talent.
MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge
• Real world applied math contest for high school juniors and seniors.
• Teams of students have 14 hours to develop mathematical models to analyze and advise on complex open-ended real-world problems.
• Solutions require mathematical, statistical, and computational modeling components. Requires defending logic and approach.
• Winning teams earn $100,000 in scholarships and grants. Prepares for data-driven problem solving.
National Engineering Design Competition
• Framework for high school students to create an original engineering design project.
• Students brainstorm a problem to address, design/build/test a prototype solution, and compete by presenting to judges.
• Project categories like aerospace, medical, energy, environment, electronics, mechanics, materials science.
• Regional finalists present at Nationals. Top winners get up to $5,000. Fosters engineering design process skills.
Science Olympiad
• 5,000 teams from elementary to high school compete in regional, state, and national levels.
• Individual and team events covering earth science, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, technology, and more.
• Events include lab experiments, engineering challenges, robotics, technical writing, and knowledge tests.
• National winning teams earn trophies, publicity, and college scholarships up to $25,000.
• Gives a broad grounding across STEM fields and collaboration skills.
National Science Bowl
• High school and middle school teams compete in a fast-paced quiz bowl format answering math, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, earth science, and energy questions.
• Regional tournaments lead up to the National Science Bowl championship in Washington D.C. with top teams winning up to $25,000 in scholarships.
• Tests well-rounded science knowledge and team collaboration skills. Developed by the Department of Energy.
American Mathematics Competitions
• Collection of national math contests for middle school through high school students.
• Contests contain creatively designed short-answer questions testing precalculus mathematical knowledge, concepts, and problem solving.
• Individual AMC contests occur at schools. High scoring students qualify for invitational rounds like AIME and USAMO.
• Top performers earn titles, publicity, scholarships, and access to advanced summer math programs. Builds foundational math skills.
FIRST Tech Challenge
• Robotics contest for grades 7-12 to design, build, program, and operate robots.
• Robots are built from reusable kits and complete tasks like throwing balls, pushing cubes, and lifts.
• Teams participate in regional qualifying tournaments leading to exciting live world championships.
• Top teams earn trophies, publicity and scholarship money up to $20,000.
• Develops engineering design, coding, teamwork, and hardware skills.
NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge
• Enlists high school teams to engineer model rovers addressing space exploration needs.
• Rover designs must incorporate specific features related to functions like soil sampling, astronaut transport, excavation.
• Teams demonstrate rovers at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center driving over obstacle courses.
• Winners get their designs featured by NASA, certificates, and publicity. Makes space science tangible.
Technovation Challenge
• Global app competition for girls ages 10-18 focusing on entrepreneurship and coding.
• Girls work in teams to develop a mobile app that addresses a community issue. Can partner with nonprofits.
• Submissions include app code, marketing materials, business plans and videos. Regional winners present live.
• Cultivates technology skills, teamwork, leadership, and social impact among girls. Regional winners get cash prizes.
Future City
• Project based competition for 6th-8th grade teams to design futuristic model cities.
• Teams outline city elements like infrastructure, governance, economy, sustainability. Build section models and write a research essay.
• Regional events lead up to finals in Washington D.C. where teams present city designs to engineer judges.
• Encourages STEM skills and civic engineering perspectives. Winners get scholarships and tech internships.
VEX IQ Challenge
• Entry-level robotics program for elementary and middle schools students.
• Teams design, build, and program VEX IQ system robots that complete game challenges like ring tossing and obstacle navigation.
• Local tournaments with judges determine state/national spots based on scores, design, teamwork. Live international finals.
• Inspires early interest in STEM concepts like coding, electronics, and engineering principles. Winners get prizes and publicity.
TEAMS Engineering Competition
• Multidisciplinary engineering contest for grades 9-12 with technical design and communication components.
• Teams develop and test devices like Rube Goldberg machines, towers, vehicles, or electrical systems to meet challenge requirements.
• Portfolios detail designs and prototypes. Winners present at nationals and can earn up to $12,500 in scholarships.
• Models the real-world engineering design process. Develops CAD, prototyping, testing, and presentation skills.
Real World Design Challenge
• Students utilize STEM skills to design commercial airplanes satisfying mission criteria.
• Individuals or teams design optimized aircraft for payload, range, cruising speed, takeoff length, and marketing applications.
• Submissions include 3D models, technical designs, flight systems, and presentations. Winners earn scholarships over $30,000 and attend U.S. gala.
• Reinforces aerospace engineering principles with practical industry experience.
National Youth Leadership Forum STEM
• All-expenses-paid STEM summer programs for outstanding 10th-11th graders.
• Immersive programs at top institutions with advanced coursework, hands-on labs, expert speaker sessions, and tech facilities tours.
• Selectees must demonstrate excellence in STEM academics, leadership, and interest in STEM careers. Highly enriching experience for top STEM students.
Broadcom MASTERS
• Premier national STEM competition recognizing top middle school science and engineering projects.
• Nearly 2,000 6-8th grade students apply each year with 300 selected as finalists based on STEM project excellence.
• Finalists compete at the national finals with their projects, interviews, and objective tests. Awards up to $25,000.
Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology
• Contest for outstanding original high school STEM research projects in science fields.
• Individual and team project submissions include scientific papers detailing methodology, results, and conclusions.
• National finalists present research in-person. Winners awarded up to $100,000 scholarships. Prestigious acknowledgement of research talent.
Other notable national science competitions include the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the Envirothon environmental science contest, and the math-focused M3 Challenge. Through competitions, young scientists from public schools, private schools, and home schools develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Many contests now incorporate new technology like ArcGIS storymaps and Lego robotics into regional and national events to solve real-world problems through hands-on STEM collaboration. Science competitions empower the next generation of innovators.
Original research projects allow students to compete in regional and national competitions like the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. Math competitions like the M3 Challenge also have regional qualifiers leading to exciting national events. These contests empower young scientists and help develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Regional competitions and national science competitions, does give students an opportunity to showcase their knowledge.
STEM competitions enable students to demonstrate academic knowledge, teamwork, problem solving, communication and presentation skills. Competing is also exciting, challenging, and rewarding. Students can gain confidence, win prizes, prep for college, and get on track for STEM careers. With so many great contests for science, tech, engineering, art and math interests, every student can find competitions to participate in and excel at. Check school guidance counselors, teacher advisors, and STEM websites for local and national contest calendars. Then start brainstorming projects and assembling teams. The thrill of competition awaits!
*Contributors: Written by Prasanna MG; Edited by Alisha Ahmed; Lead image by Shivendra Singh
