STEM Competitions

oshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Competition: Fifth Grade

The ExploraVision competition for K-12 students engages the next generation in real-world problem solving with a strong emphasis on STEM. ExploraVision challenges students to envision and communicate new technology 10 or more years in the future through collaborative brainstorming and research of current science and technology.

ExploraVision is a science competition that goes beyond the typical student science competition and into what it takes to bring ideas to reality. A teacher will sponsor and lead his/her students as they work in groups of 2 – 4 to simulate real research and development. A teacher will guide his or her students as they pick a current technology, research it, envision what it might look like in 10 or more years, and describe the development steps, pros & cons, and obstacles. Past winners have envisioned technologies ranging from a hand-held food allergen detector to a new device to help people who have lost limbs regain movement in real-time.

Future City Competition: Sixth – Eighth Grades

Future City Competition is a project-based learning program where students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades imagine, research, design, and build cities of the future.

The Future City Competition engages more than 45,000 middle school students each year throughout the United States and abroad. Students repeatedly report that the program increases their motivation and excitement about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).