- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree to $100
Engineering competitions for middle school students
Engineering competitions that accept students in grades 6 to 8. Middle school is the best time to start competing, because the fields are smaller, the entry barriers are lower, and the habits you build here carry straight into the high school versions of the same competitions.
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Engineering
Junior Solar Sprint
Design and race a solar-powered model car, free, for middle school teams.
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
- Grades4 to 8
- CostFree to $150
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
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.
Check site
- 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.
Science
Junior Innovators Challenge
The premier middle school science research competition, entered by nomination from an affiliated science fair.
Robotics
MATE ROV Competition
Build an underwater remotely operated vehicle and run real ocean-industry missions in a pool.
Check site
- 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
- Grades6 to 8
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- Cost$100 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
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
- 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.
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$50 to $500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Check site
Questions people ask about this
Can a middle school student enter high school competitions?
Sometimes. Many competitions set an upper grade limit but no lower one, so a younger student is eligible. Every listing on this site states the exact grade and age rules, and several also set an age limit on the competition day that catches people out.