Science Contests








First Lego League

Ages 9-14

For more information about First Lego League and Eden Prairie participation, see First Lego League



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Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

Grades 9-12
www.sciserv.org

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair brings together over 1400 high school students from more than 40 nations to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships and scientific field trips. The grand prize is a $50,000 college scholarship. Entries in this competition are research projects. Students wishing to enter papers should enter the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (see below).

The ISEF is held in May. Before competing at the ISEF, you must compete in an ISEF-affiliated science fair.

  • To reach the ISEF, you compete in a high school or local science fair.
  • If you win at the high school or local level, you can then compete in a regional or state fair (see Twin Cities Regional Science Fair and Minnesota Academy of Science State Science Fair below).
  • If you win at the region or state level, you may be eligible to compete at the Intel ISEF. Each affiliated fair can send up to two individual finalists and one team of up to three members to represent them at the Intel ISEF.

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Intel Science Talent Search

High school seniors
www.sciserv.org

The Intel Science Talent Search is a national competition that encourages talented high school seniors to pursue careers in science (including computer science), math, engineering and medicine. Entries are research projects that are the work of single students. Students may have participated in the Future Scientist Discovery Program (see above) or Twin Cities Regional Science Fair (see below) in preparation for this competition.

The deadline for submission of projects is mid November. Information should be available at the website in the preceding summer. Students should write their Research Report first, as early as possible, and then complete the Entry Form, along with the required essays. Teacher/advisor recommendations (up to 3) are required, along with an official high school transcript and the signature of the school principal. Supplemental forms may be required depending on the scope of the project and support from any scientist.

Semifinalists and Finalists are announced in January. The 300 students named Semifinalists receive $1,000 awards for their research, and their schools are awarded $1,000 for each Semifinalist. Thirty finalists below the top 10 places are awarded $5,000 scholarships. The Finalists who finish in the top 10 are awarded four-year scholarships, ranging from $20,000 for 8th-, 9th- and 10th-place finishers to $100,000 for the first-place Finalist. In addition, a laptop computer is awarded to each of the 40 Finalists and they will each receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC in March to attend the Science Talent Institute for a week-long stay of in-depth judging, visits to historic sites and cultural institutions, meetings with leading scientists and engineers, and the opportunity to display their research at the National Academy of Sciences.



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Internet Science and Technology Fair

Grades 3-12
http://istf.ucf.edu/

The Internet Science and Technology Fair involves small teams of students working on projects that convey the information learned in web page format. Each project must relate to one of seven “National Critical Technologies” (and an NCT Sub-area) identified as having a major influence on America’s economy and national security in the coming decades:

  • Energy
  • Environmental Quality
  • Information and Communication
  • Living Systems
  • Manufacturing
  • Materials
  • Transportation

Student teams of at least 3 students will use technical applications from one of these categories to solve a problem their team has identified or as the focus of their research. Teams must follow the content and format guidelines for their age group. Age groups are Grades 3-5, Grades 6-9, and Grades 10-12.

Project facilitators necessary for this competition can include teachers and other educators from schools, community centers, science centers and home schools. Many teams arrange for technical advisors willing to communicate with them on a regular basis via e-mail. Technical advisors can play a critical role in helping to find key information about the area of research.

Teams (and teachers) enroll from September to November and begin their project any time in October. A Team Progress Report is due in mid January, the website submission is due in late February, and each team member needs to submit a Final Process Evaluation by mid March. Judging begins at that time and concludes in mid April.

The ISTF is sponsored by Microsoft, the University of Central Florida College of Engineering & Computer Science (also host institution), and the U.S. Department of Commerce.



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Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Grades 9-12
www.jshs.org
www.mnacadsci.org

The Junior Science and Humanities Symposia (JSHS) Program promotes original research and experimentation in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics at the high school level. Students conduct an original research investigation, submit a written report for review by a regional panel of judges, and deliver a concise oral presentation to the symposium. Students are encouraged to get assistance from mentors, teachers, parents, or other students. Those who participate in the regional and national symposia gain public recognition and certificates. Regional finalists are given expense-paid trips to the National JSHS, and the top 3 are awarded scholarships of $2000, $1500, and $1000. National finalists may win $2000, $6000, or $16,000, with an expense-paid trip to the London International Youth Science Forum for each of the six 1st place finalists.

As of 2005, this competition now occurs just prior to the State Science Fair, so a student can reach the Tri-State (MN, ND, & SD) JSHS Competition in one of two ways (but not both):

  • Submit a paper to the Regional Science Fair. If you are one of the 4 winners from our region, you will automatically be qualified to compete in the Tri-State JSHS in April.
  • Submit a paper to the JSHS Open Competition. If you are one of the 6 winners from this competition, you will be qualified to compete in the Tri-State JSHS competition in April.
Check the websites for further information in December; early January is an expected registration deadline.



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Minnesota Academy of Science State Science Fair

Grades 7-12
www.mnmas.org

Held in early April, the Minnesota Academy of Science State Science Fair is the culmination of regional Minnesota fairs (see Twin Cities Regional Science Fair below). Students are invited to participate in the state fair if they have previously won first place at the regional level. The registration deadline is 10 business days after the Regional Fair. Participants in the State Fair are in Junior or Senior High School (grades 7-8 or 9-12). Senior High students participate in the project competition, while Junior High students may do a project, a research paper, or both.

Two students will win an expense-paid trip to compete at the International Science and Engineering Science Fair (see above). Two high school juniors will win a trip to compete at the American Junior Academy of Science where they will meet with students from around the country and participate in non-competitive oral and poster presentations. The top papers in both 7th and 8th grade will receive awards as well as the best Junior High papers in each category. Seagate awards a $2,000 prize to a Senior High winner and a $1,500 prize to a Junior High winner. Other Minnesota businesses and organizations offer Special Awards.



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Nobel Prize and Conference


http://nobelprize.org/about/outreach.html

This website will increase student awareness and understanding of the importance of achievements for international advancement.


Also of interest may be the information about the annual Nobel Conference series held at Gustavus Adolphus College, found at www.gustavus.edu/events/nobel



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Science Olympiad

Middle school and high school students

For more information about Science Olympiad and Eden Prairie participation, see Science Olympiad.



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Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science & Technology

High school students
www.siemens-foundation.org/competition

This is a research based competition. Students may compete individually or on a team. Those who compete individually must be high school seniors. Teams may have two or three high school members from one or more schools and do not need to include a senior. The research may be related to any one of a number of disciplines.

Projects are judged on originality, creativity, academic rigor and clarity of communication. The initial screening is done by panels of research scientists in a blind reading. Those students selected for further competition are invited to give an oral and poster presentation at one of the six regional events held in November. One individual and one team will be selected as Regional Winners. Each high school with a regional finalist receives a $2000 award per project.

Regional winners are invited to advance to the National Competition in New York City in early December, where their presentations are judged by research scientists recruited for their specific expertise in the area of research for each project.

Scholarships of $1,000-$100,000 are awarded. Online registration begins in May, with a deadline of the beginning of October.



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Twin Cities Regional Science Fair

Grades 6-12
www.tcrsf.org

The Twin Cities Regional Science Fair is for any individual or team of 2-3 students in grades 6-12 attending school in Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, or Washington County. A student may participate in both the project and paper competitions, but may enter one individual project or one team project, not both.

  • Grade 6 students are eligible to compete at the regional level with projects only.
  • Grades 7-8 are eligible for regional and state levels with projects and papers.
  • Grades 9-12 are eligible for regional and state levels with projects and papers.
  • Grades 9-12 are eligible for International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) with projects only.

The TCRSF is affiliated with the ISEF and must conform to their rules. Read the website information carefully.

Submission deadlines: papers January 15, projects January 31. (Verify submission deadlines at the website, and submit early to ensure that all forms have been correctly filled out by the deadline.) The Twin Cities Regional Science Fair is held in February. Students may continue on to the Minnesota State Science Fair held in early April. The ISEF is held in early May.



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Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Team Competition

Grades K-12
www.exploravision.org

The purpose of this competition is to challenge students to combine their imaginations with the tools of science to create and explore a vision of future technology. Teams of 2-4 students research a technology, figure out how it works and why it was invented, and project how it may change in the future. They then need to figure out what technology would be needed to make the change happen, and address the possible positive and negative consequences of the technology on society. Each team has a coach who must be a teacher (and not a parent or guardian) and an optional mentor.

Projects are judged on creativity, scientific accuracy, communication and feasibility of vision. Unique projects are awarded higher points. Each of the 24 regional winning teams will create a Web site for their future technology. Student members of the four first-place teams will each receive a U.S. EE Savings Bond worth $10,000 at maturity. Second-place winners receive bonds worth $5,000 at maturity. All students on the 24 regional winning teams and Honorable Mention teams will receive a special gift, as will the coaches and mentors. Schools of the regional winning teams will each receive a Toshiba laptop computer, which will be used by the regional winning teams to create their Web sites.

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