- Grades1 to 8
- Cost$100 to $1,200
Science competitions for middle school students
Science 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
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
Science
HOSA
Over sixty competitive events across clinical skills, health knowledge and leadership, from middle school upward.
140 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$20 to $1,500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
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.
Science
Breakthrough Junior Challenge
Explain a hard scientific idea in a three-minute video, for a $250,000 scholarship package.
82 days left
- Grades6 to 9
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
168 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$100 to $1,000
- FormatTeam
- WhereIn person
88 days left
- Grades8 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationDeep understanding of one concept in physics, life sciences or mathematics
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Environment
GENIUS Olympiad
An international project competition on environmental issues, spanning science, art, writing, business and robotics.
6 days left
- Grades8 to 12
- CostNot confirmed
PreparationA completed project on an environmental theme, plus funds for the finalist fee and travel
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Science
Junior Innovators Challenge
The premier middle school science research competition, entered by nomination from an affiliated science fair.
Science
National Science Bowl
A fast buzzer competition across all sciences and maths, run free by the Department of Energy since 1991.
Check site
- Grades6 to 8
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree to $50
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.
75 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- Cost$50 to $500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person
Scholarships and challenges
Davidson Fellows Scholarship
Scholarships of up to $50,000 for a significant piece of work in science, technology, mathematics, literature, music or philosophy.
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- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationA completed piece of work at or close to college graduate level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
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.