- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree to $100
Engineering competitions for high school students
Design-and-build challenges open to students in grades 9 to 12, from rocketry and robotics to bridge design and invention. Most run as teams through a school club, and several are free or close to it once you account for grants.
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Robotics
SeaPerch
Build an underwater robot from PVC pipe and motors for well under a hundred dollars, then race and manoeuvre it.
Engineering
The Paradigm Challenge
Solve a real social problem however you like, from age four upward, with a large prize pool.
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$50 to $300
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Engineering
Destination Imagination
Team creative problem solving across technical, scientific, engineering, fine arts and service challenges.
234 days left
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$165 to $5,500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Engineering
ExploraVision
Pick a technology, project it twenty years forward, and write the paper explaining how it gets there.
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Robotics
FIRST Tech Challenge
A smaller, cheaper robotics league with the same season structure as FRC and a far lower barrier to entry.
Engineering
Future City
Design a city a century from now, in simulation, in an essay, and as a physical model built from recycled materials.
140 days left
- Grades7 to 12
- Cost$300 to $3,000
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$25 to $25
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Engineering
Odyssey of the Mind
Teams solve a long-term creative problem over months, then face a spontaneous problem they have never seen.
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- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$290 to $400
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Robotics
VEX Robotics Competition
The largest robotics competition in the world by team count, with tournaments running most weekends.
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- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$300 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Engineering
eCYBERMISSION
Solve a problem in your own community using science or engineering, entirely online, for free.
Engineering
American Rocketry Challenge
Design a rocket that carries eggs to an exact altitude and returns them intact, to the second.
Business
Conrad Challenge
A year-long innovation competition where teams build a product and a business around a real global problem.
Robotics
FIRST Robotics Competition
Build a 125-pound robot in six weeks, then compete in a stadium alliance game.
Robotics
MATE ROV Competition
Build an underwater remotely operated vehicle and run real ocean-industry missions in a pool.
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- Grades6 to 9
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
168 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$100 to $1,000
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
88 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree to $499
- FormatTeam
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- Cost$500 to $8,000
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
69 days left
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$100 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Math
MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge
Fourteen hours, one open-ended real-world problem, and a written mathematical model. Free, with six figures in scholarships.
Coding
NASA App Development Challenge
Build software against a real NASA mission problem, free, with winning teams meeting NASA engineers.
Engineering
STEM Racing (formerly F1 in Schools)
Design, manufacture and race a miniature air-powered car, and run the team like a racing outfit. Rebranded from F1 in Schools to STEM Racing in 2024.
Check site
- Grades11 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$200 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Science
Science Olympiad
A 23-event team tournament covering everything from anatomy to bridge building, run at invitational, regional, state and national level.
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- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$50 to $500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Engineering
Zero Robotics
Write code that controls a real satellite aboard the International Space Station.
Science
Regeneron ISEF
The world's largest pre-college science research competition, reached by winning your way up through affiliated fairs.
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- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree to $50
PreparationAn ongoing research project and a win at an affiliated fair
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Check site
Questions people ask about this
What is the best engineering competition for a beginner?
Start with something rated 1 or 2 out of 5 for difficulty on this page. Those assume no prior competition experience and usually publish past problems or past winning entries so you know exactly what you are walking into.
Are there free engineering competitions?
6 of the 20 listed here have no entry fee for the student. Note that a free entry fee is not the same as a free competition: team-based events can carry materials and travel costs, which each listing states separately.