2025 Student Submissions Are Now Closed
Submissions Are Now Closed — Start Planning for 2026!
We encourage you to begin preparing your project now for the next submission window, opening in August/September 2025. The six festival themes will remain the same - Environmental Stewardship, Future Foods, Aerospace Innovation, Health & Medicine, Tech for Good, and Powering the Planet.
Top projects from each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories will be selected as Finalists. Finalists will advance to Round 2 by submitting a video explanation of their project.
Top-scoring students in Round 2 will earn a trip to Washington, D.C. to showcase their projects at the National STEM Festival in June 2026—presenting to corporate leaders, government agencies, and media.
Need inspiration? Explore this year’s winning projects to see the creativity, curiosity, and real-world problem-solving that stood out.
If you presented at the 2024 or 2025 Festivals in Washington, D.C., you are eligible for the 2026 Festival.
Please note that submissions must be new, original projects and cannot be the same ones presented at previous festivals, even if you've conducted updated research or iterated on your previous submissions.
Sept. 17
Submissions Open
Nov. 12
Submissions Close
Dec. 11
Finalists Announced
Feb. 11
Champions Announced
June 23
Festival in D.C.
2024 Sample Submissions
Unbind the Blind | Muminah Nihaar Mohammed
TalkToMe | Isha Nagireddy
Using Convolutional Neural Networks To Detect and Prevent Skin Cancer in Underrepresented Communities By Using an Android App | Emma Nordstrom
Worms for the Win -What are the Effects of a Polystyrene Diet on Tenebrio Molitor Development, Subsequent Breeding Behavior, and Offspring Outcome? | Linda Pistun
The Kinetic Kickz 2.0 | Lino Marrero
Transcend Traffic – Intelligent Urban Traffic Revolution | Dhruva Sharma
