12 Science Fairs Open To High School Students

Science and Health

Science fairs offer a platform for students to study any topic they are interested in and present their findings to an audience. They are a fantastic opportunity for high school students to explore their scientific interests and showcase their ideas. These events allow students to demonstrate their commitment to advancing the scientific field and make them more competitive in the college and combined medical program admissions process.

Benefits Of Participation
Participating in a science fair is not just about the competition, but the long-term benefits. It allows students to brainstorm and implement their novel solutions to real-world problems. They design experiments, learn lab techniques and develop inventions or produce results that can lead to significant discoveries. From the start of the process to the end, it is a rigorous but gratifying activity that will lead to bonding with peers, learning a new field and creating an impact. Whether they are interested in biology, chemistry, physics or engineering, students can use these fairs to explore subjects beyond the standard curriculum of their high schools and gain hands-on experience in research and innovation.

Developing Communication Skills
In addition to gaining technical skills, science fairs offer a chance to build communication skills. After the scientific work is finished, students present their projects to judges. Training for this last step refines their ability to explain complex concepts in an accessible way. These events also foster a sense of community, allowing students to talk with peers and mentors who share their mutual enthusiasm for science.

Impact On College Applications
Excelling at science fair competitions can also substantially boost college and combined medical program applications. Admissions officers look for students who have demonstrated a passion for science and can independently work on a project, such as scientific research. A winning project at a science fair can highlight a student’s dedication and curiosity, making them stand out in the competitive admissions pool.

Upcoming Science Fairs
Participating in a science fair involves advanced planning and staying up-to-date with their deadlines is essential. Here are some science fairs that offer students a chance to showcase their scientific talents.

Davidson Fellows

Location: Washington, D.C.
Dates: Summer
Registration deadline: January/February
Cost: None
Age requirements: Must be less than 18 years old
Team sizes: No more than two people
Prizes and awards: $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000 scholarship
Overview: Project categories include Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Literature, Music, Philosophy and Outside the Box. The scholarships are awarded to pieces of significant work, which includes a creative application of existing knowledge, an innovation, a prodigious performance or another demonstration of a prodigious accomplishment.

Odyssey of the Mind

Location: Varies by association area
Dates: Varies by association area
Registration deadline: December/January
Cost: $290 for standard membership and an additional $190 for a second team within the same school
Age requirements: Grades 6-8 (less than 15 years old) for Division II and grades 9-12 for Division III
Team sizes: Up to seven people (no minimum)
Prizes and awards: Place awards, Creativity award, Role Model award and Spirit award
Overview: This is a problem-solving competition with five problem categories: Vehicle (students build an efficient and powered vehicle), Technology (students create an innovative device), Classics (students present a piece of literature), Structure (students build a wood and glue structure) and Performance (students showcase a performance). Each team must have a coach, and each team must compete with its local association group. There is a regional, state and world finals level.

Regeneron ISEF

Location: Varies by area
Dates: Varies by area
Registration deadline: October
Cost: $800 for 1-3 projects and incremental increases for additional projects
Age requirements: Grades 9-12 and under 20 years old
Team sizes: Individual competition
Prizes and awards: One $75,000 award, two $50,000 awards and three $10,000 awards
Overview: Categories include behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental sciences, technology, mathematics, physics, robotics and software. Students must first compete in the local, regional and state fairs to participate in the final competition with the grand awards. Projects must be completed within 12 months of research.

Regeneron Science Talent Search

Location: Varies by area
Dates: Varies by area
Registration deadline: November
Cost: Free
Age requirements: Attending last year of secondary school
Team sizes: Individual competition
Prizes and awards: Three hundred $2,000 awards and a top award of $250,000
Overview: Students will submit essay questions, a maximum of 20 pages of original scientific paper, recommendations, transcripts and optional test scores. The top 40 participants are invited to the final competition in Washington, DC.

MIT Think Scholars Program

Location: MIT’s campus
Dates: February to June
Registration deadline: November
Cost: Free
Age requirements: High school student
Team sizes: Up to two people
Prizes and awards: $1,000 in funding for the project and an all-expenses-paid trip to MIT’s campus
Overview: This program is unique because instead of requiring the student to have a fully fleshed-out science fair project, they are looking for a 10-page research proposal, including necessary procedures. Semifinalists are interviewed, and MIT professors provide mentorship to carry out the project if selected as finalists.

ExploraVision

Location: Varies by area
Dates: April to June
Registration deadline: January
Cost: Free
Age requirements: Middle level is grades 7-9, and high school level is grades 10-12; Must be less than 21 years old
Team sizes: 2-4 students
Prizes and awards: $10,000 Savings Bond for four teams, $5,000 Savings Bond for four teams, a trip to Washington, DC for eight teams, a Chromebook for 24 teams and an honorable mention for about 500 teams.
Overview: Students compete in this science fair with a teacher or coach by submitting an abstract and project description. This fair is developing a new, more efficient method of technology that doesn’t exist today. Students must pass the regional competition to participate nationally for the monetary awards.

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Location: Varies by area
Dates: January to May
Registration deadline: January
Cost: Free
Age requirements: Grades 9-12
Team sizes: Individual competition
Prizes and awards: 1st place regional wins $2,000 in college scholarship; 2nd place regional wins $1,500 in college scholarship; and 3rd place regional wins $1,000 in college scholarship; each 1st place national wins $12,000 in college scholarship; each 2nd place national wins $8,000 in college scholarship; each 3rd place national wins $4,000 in college scholarship
Overview: Competition categories include environmental science, biology, engineering, mathematics, physics and chemistry. Students submit a 250-word maximum abstract and research paper. Participants must pass the regional symposia to compete in the national science fair.

Destination Imagination Challenge Experience

Location: Varies by area
Dates: February to May
Registration deadline: August
Cost: $165 per team and $5,500 per team for Global Finals
Age requirements: Middle level (Grades 6-8) and secondary level (Grades 9-12)
Team sizes: 2-7 people
Prizes and awards: Place awards
Overview: This program comprises “Team Challenges” and “Instant Challenges.” For the “Team Challenges,” students work together to develop a solution to present at the tournament. Categories for this include technical challenge, engineer challenge, scientific challenge, fine arts challenge, improvisational challenge and service learning challenge. For the “Instant Challenges,” students will have to solve a problem quickly on the spot during the competition.

The Tech Challenge

Location: Varies by year
Dates: October to April
Registration deadline: April
Cost: $50
Age requirements: Grades 4-12
Team sizes: 2-6 people
Prizes and awards: Three Judge’s Choice awards, Best Costume, Best Team Safety, Outstanding Collaboration Award, Judges’ Inspiration Award, Jerry Lovelace Love of Engineering Award, three Outstanding Device Performance awards, three Outstanding Engineering Design Process awards, three Outstanding Engineering Journal awards and three Outstanding Overall awards.
Overview: Each year, participants spend months developing an engineering design for a specified real-world problem. Students must keep an engineering journal, recording each step of their development process, to be turned in for the judges’ review. The program culminates in a final weekend where teams demonstrate their devices and present their engineering journals.

Genes in Space

Location: Varies by year
Dates: January to August
Registration deadline: April
Cost: Free
Age requirements: Grades 7-12
Team sizes: Individual competition
Prizes and awards: Five finalists will receive mentorship from Harvard and MIT scientists, five Junior Scientist Awards will be given to students in grades 7-8, and one winner whose experiment will be conducted aboard the International Space Station.
Overview: Students must design a DNA experiment that solves a problem in space travel. All projects must include one component of the Genes in Space toolkit: a fluorescence viewer, PCR thermal cycler or BioBits cell-free system.

American Academy of Neurology Neuroscience Research Prize

Location: San Diego, CA
Dates: June to October
Registration deadline: October
Cost: Free
Age requirements: Grades 9-12
Team sizes: Individual competition
Prizes and awards: Each winner receives a $1,000 prize and the opportunity to present their work at a poster session at the AAN Annual Meeting in San Diego, California
Overview: This competition invites students to perform scientific research on the brain and nervous system. Participants must submit a maximum 300-word abstract and research report. Judges are looking for relevance to neuroscience, creativity, accurate interpretation of data and quality of the research report.

Conrad Challenge

Location: Houston, TX
Dates: November to April
Registration deadline: November
Cost: $499 Innovation Stage entry fee
Age requirements: 13-18 years old
Team sizes: 2-5 people
Prizes and awards: Scholarships, consulting services and Dell Latitude laptops
Overview: This competition has four stages: activation, Lean Canvas, Innovation and Power Pitch. The Activation stage comprises the registration process, the Lean Canvas stage is the brainstorming period, the Innovation stage is where participants write an innovation brief, record an innovation video and create a website. The Power Pitch stage is where top teams are invited to pitch at the Innovation Summit.

Ben Affleck applauds Jennifer Lopez performance in new film ‘Unstoppable’

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

Amid their ongoing divorce, Ben Affleck has praised estranged wife Jennifer Lopez’s performance in the upcoming film Unstoppable, which he co-produced.Directed by William Goldenberg, Unstoppable tells the inspiring story of wrestler Anthony Robles, portrayed by Jharrel Jerome, who was born with one leg and overcame remarkable odds to become a college wrestling champion, even competing against the very school that once rejected him. The film is based on the 2012 book by Robles and Austin Murphy.The cast includes Lopez, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, and Don Cheadle. Affleck and Lopez worked on Unstoppable together before their separation. They began production on the film through Affleck’s production company, Artists Equity, which he cofounded with Matt Damon.Despite the separation, Affleck has spoken highly of Lopez’s performance in the film, telling Entertainment Tonight that “Jennifer is spectacular” in the role of Judy Robles.The couple announced their separation after completing their work on the film which has led to questions about their relationship.Newsweek emailed spokespeople for Lopez and Affleck for comment on Monday.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck arrive for the premiere of “The Mother” at the Westwood Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles, California, on May 10, 2023. Amid their ongoing divorce, Affleck has praised Lopez’s performance…
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck arrive for the premiere of “The Mother” at the Westwood Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles, California, on May 10, 2023. Amid their ongoing divorce, Affleck has praised Lopez’s performance in the upcoming film Unstoppable.
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Michael Tran/AFP via Getty Images
When Did Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez Start Dating?The two actors first began dating in early 2002 after meeting on the set of Gigli. The relationship quickly captured public attention, and the media coined the nickname “Bennifer” for the couple.Affleck proposed with a 6.1-carat pink diamond ring, and the two soon started working together again on the film Jersey Girl. However, as media attention intensified, they postponed their wedding.They called off their engagement in 2004 but at the time didn’t know that years later, they’d rekindle their romance. In 2021 the relationship was back on, with the couple making their first red carpet appearance together at the Venice International Film Festival.Bennifer tied the knot in a spontaneous private ceremony at a Las Vegas chapel on July 16, 2022. Later, on August 20, 2022, they held a grander celebration with friends and family at their estate in Riceboro, Georgia.Why Did Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Break Up?Rumors circulated for months that the couple were planning to split, with Newsweek previously detailing all the signs that were leading up to the breakup.According to court records obtained by Newsweek, Lopez filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court on August 20—the two-year anniversary of her and Affleck’s second wedding ceremony in Georgia in the summer of 2022. The couple have cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split.During an October conversation with Nikki Glaser for Interview magazine, Lopez, said she is enjoying being single and doesn’t plan on getting back into the dating game anytime soon.”Now I’m excited …,” she explained. “Yes, I’m not looking for anybody, because everything that I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years, being in these different challenging situations, what can I f****** do when it’s just me flying on my own … what if I’m just free?”However, being single isn’t as simple as Lopez initially believed it would be.”The work is figuring yourself out,” she said. “It’s looking back at the feelings underneath and the belief systems that we have about ourselves that make us make certain choices and create certain patterns in our life.”She continued, explaining that doing the inner work is “f****** hard.””It feels lonely, unfamiliar, scary,” Lopez said. “It feels sad. It feels desperate. But when you sit in those feelings and go, ‘These things are not going to kill me,’ it’s like actually, I am capable of joy and happiness all by myself … Being in a relationship doesn’t define me.”

FCC Aims to Boost Undersea Cable Security, Purge Adversary Tech

Technology

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans to vote Nov. 21 on a notice of proposed rulemaking that would review the agency’s existing licensing rules for undersea cables with the goal of better protecting that class of critical communications infrastructure by, among other steps, prohibiting the use of equipment and services sold by companies based in adversarial nations including China and Russia.According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than 95 percent of the world’s international data and voice traffic is carried through undersea fiber optic cables, with satellite communications carrying the remainder.
In an Oct. 31 fact sheet, the FCC said the notice of proposed rulemaking – if approved by a vote of the agency’s five commissioners – would mark its first “comprehensive review” of submarine cable rules since 2001.
“Over the last two decades, technology, consumer expectations, international submarine cable traffic patterns, and investment in and construction of submarine cable infrastructure have greatly changed,” the agency said.
“Notably, national security and law enforcement threat environments have evolved significantly,” the FCC emphasized.
The agency said the proposed rulemaking would seek comment on how best to improve and streamline the agency’s submarine cable rules “to facilitate efficient deployment of submarine cables while at the same time ensuring the security, resilience, and protection of this critical infrastructure.”
On the policy and administrative front, the proposed rulemaking would seek comment on a proposal to codify the FCC’s legal jurisdiction in its rules “to provide regulatory certainty to submarine cable owners and operators,” propose a three-year periodic review process for cable landing licenses, and possibly shorten the current 25-year term for licenses.
In the security area, the proposed rulemaking would seek comment on “updating application requirements for national security purposes and to ensure the Commission has targeted and granular information regarding the ownership, control, and use of a submarine cable system.”
It would also propose “new regulatory compliance certifications to protect against national security, law enforcement, and other risks,” seek comment on how the FCC could work with other Federal agencies on protecting submarine cable infrastructure, and look for input on improving the quality of circuit capacity data and sharing of that information with other Federal agencies.
Within the proposed changes, the FCC said it wants to adopt a presumption that entities whose applications to run undersea cables were previously denied or revoked because of national security and law enforcement concerns shall not be qualified for a new submarine cable landing license.
The FCC also said the proposed rulemaking will look to create a process for submarine cable applicants to certify that they have created and implemented cybersecurity risk management plans, and to certify “as a condition of the potential grant of their application” that their submarine cable systems will not use equipment or services on the agency’s “covered list” that it maintains under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act.
Companies on the covered list include numerous China-based suppliers including Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp., and Russia-based AO Kaspersky Lab.
Current holders of submarine cable landing licenses would have to certify within 60 days of the FCC’s release of a report and order from the proceeding whether they use equipment that is on the covered list.
Finally, the FCC said it proposes to amend its current rules “by adding a new routine condition and a certification requirement in the proposed periodic reports prohibiting licensees from using, for the relevant submarine cable system, equipment or services identified” on the covered list.
“We also seek comment on whether to require a certification by all applicants/licensees that they have the ability to promptly and effectively interrupt, in whole or in part, traffic to and from the United States on the submarine cable system,” the FCC said.