Browse STEM competitions
39 competitions
Zero Robotics
Write code that flies free-floating robots aboard the International Space Station.
American Computer Science League
Four-contest CS league for grades 3-12. Combines short programming with theoretical CS questions (recursion, boolean algebra, etc).
Bebras Computing Challenge
International computational-thinking puzzle test. K-12 friendly, 45 minutes, zero programming required.
Breakthrough Junior Challenge
Make a 3-minute video explaining a big idea in physics, life sciences, or math. $250,000 college scholarship to the winner.
Congressional App Challenge
Per-district app development competition open to every U.S. high schooler. The only U.S. government-sponsored coding competition.
Conrad Challenge
Year-long innovation + entrepreneurship competition. Teams of 2-5, ages 13-18, build a product solving a real problem.
Diamond Challenge
University-of-Delaware-hosted entrepreneurship competition for HS students. 130+ countries, $100k+ prize pool, two tracks (Business + Social Innovation).
eCYBERMISSION
U.S. Army-sponsored STEM team competition for grades 6-9. Identify a community problem; design + test a STEM solution.
ExploraVision
NSTA / Toshiba competition: imagine a technology 5+ years in the future. K-12, team-based, $10k savings bond top prize.
Future City Competition
Design a city of the future to solve a real engineering problem. Team-based, project-heavy, MS-focused (with an HS division added recently).
International Space Settlement Design Competition
A 40-hour simulated aerospace-industry contract bid, run as an overnight engineering marathon.
Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
DoD-sponsored research symposium for HS students. Present original research; scholarships from $1,000 to $12,000.
Math Kangaroo
The global beginner-friendly math contest. K-12, fixed test date in March, every participant gets a gift bag.
MIT PRIMES
Year-long mentored research with MIT graduate students. Math and computational biology. Highly selective; rejection rate ~95%.
NASA HUNCH
Build real hardware and software that NASA actually flies or uses on the ISS.
National Science Bowl
DOE-sponsored buzzer-style science quiz. Teams of 4-5 race the clock on biology, chemistry, physics, math, earth + energy science.
Research Science Institute
Six-week summer research program at MIT for rising HS seniors. Free, fully funded, ~80 students worldwide. Acceptance rate ~5%.
Technovation Girls
Build a mobile app + business plan to solve a community problem. Ages 8-18, all-girls teams (or coed in some regions). Free, 12-week curriculum, mentor support.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
The premier U.S. middle-school science research competition. Top 30 finalists travel to D.C.; formerly known as Broadcom MASTERS.