How do we get students excited about science?
One of the best ways to get students excited about science is to participate in a science competition. These competitions are great for discovering new ideas, developing skills, building teamwork and they’re all fun. At the high school level many of these competitions also bring recognition, scholarships and even cash prizes.
There are many different competitions out there for elementary, middle and high school students to explore. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorites, but with all the options out there, you’re sure to find one that fits each and every student.
This is one the best science competitions out there. In Science Olympiad schools have a team of up to 15 students who compete in 23 different hands-on events that cover a wide range of math and science topics. In each event there are 2 students working together to complete the challenge as a team. Science olympiad does require preparation, commitment, coaching and practice throughout the year. The competition starts at a regional level then to state and a national final every May.
Grades: 6-12
2. Science Bowl
The National Science Bowl is a highly renowned competition for middle schools and high school students. Students in a team of 3-4 compete in a fast-paced verbal forum to solve problems and answer questions in all disciplines of math and science. Every April winners of their regional competitions receive an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. to compete in the national finals.
The Young Scientist Challenge invites students to create a 1-2 minute video describing a unique solution they have developed to help solve an everyday problem. Categories include health, safety, mobility, environment, energy consumption and the community. The challenge opens in December and judging begins every May.
Grades: 5-8
In this competition students select and research a current technology and envision what this technology will look like in 20 years including the potential positive and negative consequences of such technology. Students compete in teams of 2-4 along with a teacher as a mentor.
Grades: K-12
Future Engineers conducts a few different challenges for students ages K-12. Challenges range from writing an essay about Radioisotope Power Systems to building a lunar robot designed to dig and explore the surface of the moon. The challenges open in October and close in late January.
Grades: K-12
This challenge is designed for students from elementary to high school ages. This program piggybacks off NASA’s lunar exploration program giving students the opportunity to conduct plant growing research to help future space explorers. In this competition, students receive a soil sample from University of Central Florida’s CLASS Exolith Lab and are then challenged with conducting a set of growing experiments. After 10 weeks students submit their reports detailing their findings.
Grades: K-12
This is the world's largest student rocket competition with over 5,000 students participating annually. In this competition a team of students grades 6-12 build a rocket designed to carry a raw egg to a specific altitude then return it to ground safely. Applications are due in early December with competition in early/late spring.
Grades: 6-12
8. Vex Robotics
Vex Robotics has two divisions for its main competitions. VEX IQ is designed for students in grades 4-8, while VEX is designed for students in grades 6-12. Both divisions require students to build a robot that can carry out certain tasks as set by that year's criteria. Competition occurs year round on a local, regional, national and a global scale with up 12,000 teams worldwide.
Grades: 4-12
This is a multi-level competition for highschool students across the United States. After three rounds of competition 4 students are chosen to represent the U.S. in the International Chemistry Olympiad competition held in July.
Grades: Highschool
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