Participating in events during high school lays down the foundation for success in various fields of life by inculcating values such as hard work, quick wit, confidence, organization, time management and learning to take failure. Over the past few years, due to college admissions becoming more and more competitive, a greater number of students are partaking in competitions related to their area of focus, with the most competitive ones choosing STEM events. STEM is a field with numerous opportunities for growth, which these events highlight.
Published by: Mariam Umar
Below is a list of 8 STEM Competitions for High School Students:
6. National Science Bowl USA
STEM Competition: Science quiz bowl
The National Science Bowl is an internationally recognized science proficiency competition, for both middle school and high school students. This competition follows a Quiz Bowl format as indicated by the name and is characterized by a buzzer, as seen on popular television shows, to signal a participant’s readiness to answer. The competition consists of two rounds, regionals and nationals.
Eligibility:
Each team is supposed to consist of two to four participants, a mentor and an alternate. It is a requirement that all these must be from the same school.
Prizes:
The top two high school teams win trips to one of the National Parks, and the top middle schools win individual medals, a trophy and a photograph with the Department of Energy.
5. Program Guide – Odyssey of the Mind
STEM Competition: 3-Round Problem solving program
This is a creative problem solving program which poses a long term problem to be studied and solved by a group of students. The team is encouraged to use theatrical performances, visuals and comic skits to present their solutions. This program fosters critical thinking and problem solving skills in a creative fashion. The program has three rounds, regionals, nationals and the world finals. The three criteria within each round are long term, style and spontaneous. The long term part refers to the pre posed problem, while the spontaneous one is decided by the judges and should be solved on the spot.
Eligibility:
Teams need to be made up of up to seven participants in four different age groups spanning all grades from the first to twelfth. Schools have to buy a membership to create a chapter, and teams can be made up of people from different member schools.
Prizes:
Out of 800 teams, 19 are named world champions and receive awards. In addition, there are other awards for categories like creativity and best mentor/coach.
4. Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair:
International Science Fair
This is a Science Fair displaying projects from their respective states. It is affiliated with the Society of Science and takes place in almost every state. Students choose to compete in various streams and attend a number of events. The competition is divided into three levels, high school, regional and the international level.
Eligibility:
High school students that are between ninth and twelfth grade and have not turned twenty preceding the May of ISEF.
Prizes:
Around 8 million dollars in total prizes and a $75,000 top prize.
4. Exploravision:
STEM Competition with regional & national finalists
This is a national competition aimed at inculcating a love of STEM subjects and collaborative learning skills within students of all interests, backgrounds and age groups. It is a joint venture between the National Science Teachers Association and Toshiba Corporation, encouraging students to explore their love for technology by coming up with new ways to apply scientific principles. The competition is divided into two parts, regionals and nationals, each with its own specific instructions on successful completion of the round.
Eligibility:
A team can have up to four students and must have a mentor. Mentors and students complete the Entry Form and submit an abstract and detailed project description.
Prizes:
There are two teams, the first and second national winners. They receive $10,000 and $5,000 towards college funds respectively, and an all expenses paid trip to Washington DC, where they are presented their awards and get to participate in other activities.
Courtesy of Lab Out Loud
2. Stockholm Junior Water Prize:
STEM Competition: Eco-friendly practices with technology
This competition is aimed at combining eco-friendly practices with technology to create school projects to solve water challenges. This competition accepts entries from all over the world, and has had 35 countries be represented.
Eligibility:
The competition is open to high school students from ninth to twelfth grade that are at least 15 years of age before the first of August of the year they intend to compete.
Prizes:
The winner receives $15,000 and the International Crystal Trophy, whereas the winning student’s school is given a $5000 prize.
Courtesy of Competition Sciences
1. ArcGis Online Competition:
STEM Research Competition
This is an online competition where students create a research project, conduct relevant research and share their findings, with regard to their home state. Competitors gather, analyze, interpret and share data that they come up with to create a map describing their project. There are two rounds to the competition, high school level and state level.
Eligibility:
Open to middle and high school students. Each school may form as many teams as they like, with each team consisting of two students. High schoolers may be in grades ninth through twelfth, while middle schoolers may be in grades fourth through eighth.
Prizes:
Top MS and HS submissions are awarded a cash prize and state level recognition for their work. The top MS and HS participants go on to compete nationally wherein they can win a trip to the Esri Education Summit.
This was just a general list, there are other competitions pertaining to more specific fields within STEM. If you want to boost your resume and find out more extracurriculars like the ones mentioned above, or even promote your own passion projects, ViBE For Youth is the place to go! Go check out all the amazing projects on our website, and a couple of your own!
