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.

18 competitions · 5 free · 6 online · 2 with preparation guides

Engineering Invention Convention Invent something that solves a real problem, document the process, and pitch it like an inventor.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree to $100
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person

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Engineering Junior Solar Sprint Design and race a solar-powered model car, free, for middle school teams.

Grades4 to 8
CostFree to $150
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

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Robotics SeaPerch Build an underwater robot from PVC pipe and motors for well under a hundred dollars, then race and manoeuvre it.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$50 to $300
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

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Engineering The Paradigm Challenge Solve a real social problem however you like, from age four upward, with a large prize pool.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline

231 days left

Engineering Destination Imagination Team creative problem solving across technical, scientific, engineering, fine arts and service challenges.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$165 to $5,500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

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Engineering ExploraVision Pick a technology, project it twenty years forward, and write the paper explaining how it gets there.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

137 days left

Robotics FIRST Tech Challenge A smaller, cheaper robotics league with the same season structure as FRC and a far lower barrier to entry.

Grades7 to 12
Cost$300 to $3,000
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

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Engineering Future City Design a city a century from now, in simulation, in an essay, and as a physical model built from recycled materials.

Grades6 to 12
Cost$25 to $25
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

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Engineering Odyssey of the Mind Teams solve a long-term creative problem over months, then face a spontaneous problem they have never seen.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$290 to $400
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

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Robotics VEX Robotics Competition The largest robotics competition in the world by team count, with tournaments running most weekends.

Grades6 to 12
Cost$300 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

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Engineering eCYBERMISSION Solve a problem in your own community using science or engineering, entirely online, for free.

Grades6 to 9
CostFree
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

165 days left

Engineering American Rocketry Challenge Design a rocket that carries eggs to an exact altitude and returns them intact, to the second.

Grades6 to 12
Cost$100 to $1,000
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

85 days left

Business Conrad Challenge A year-long innovation competition where teams build a product and a business around a real global problem.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree to $499
FormatTeam
WhereBoth

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Science Junior Innovators Challenge The premier middle school science research competition, entered by nomination from an affiliated science fair.

Grades6 to 8
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth

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Robotics MATE ROV Competition Build an underwater remotely operated vehicle and run real ocean-industry missions in a pool.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$100 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

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Coding NASA App Development Challenge Build software against a real NASA mission problem, free, with winning teams meeting NASA engineers.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

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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.

Grades6 to 12
Cost$200 to $3,000
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

Check site

Science Science Olympiad A 23-event team tournament covering everything from anatomy to bridge building, run at invitational, regional, state and national level.

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.

Engineering competitions for middle school students

Questions people ask about this

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