Contests for Kids

We have gathered together links to some of the
best annual contests for children to participate in.

Each link below will open in a new window, so you can
easily return to our site for more great resources!

Deadlines vary for each contest. Details for
each contest can be found at the links below.

We update this section on a regular basis, so check back often!



Language Arts Contests

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Reading Rainbow — Young Writers and Illustrators Annual Contest. Children in grades K-3 who write and illustrate their own original stories can enter them in a contest sponsored by the PBS series Reading Rainbow and local PBS stations. Each child who enters will receive a signed certificate. Entries are submitted to local PBS stations. First-place winners will be submitted to the national contest. Deadline: Varies, contact your PBS station for local contest deadlines.

Writers Digest — Writing Competitions and Contests for children. Writer's Digest sponsors several writing contests annually. Contests and deadlines vary, please click here for more information on current contests.



Math Contests

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USA Mathematical Talent Search — Challenge middle-school math students with the USA Mathematical Talent Search's free competitions. Contests run quarterly and give children a month to hash out five different math problems. Click here for more details.

Problem of the Week — Columbus State University has a weekly math contest for children (and adults) of all ages. Each Monday, a new problem is introduced. If you think you have solved the problem, submit your answer and your name will be listed in the answer section. Past problems can still be answered, as well. Nothing like a math challenge to start the week!



Musical Contests

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Oscar Mayer Talent Search Contest — Do you have a talented singer in your house? Enter the Sing the Jingle contest! Oscar Mayer is holding its annual Talent Search contest. Click here for details, prizes, and deadlines.



Science and Technology Contests

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Toshiba ExploraVision Awards — The Toshiba Corporation sponsors an annual ExploraVision Awards. The competition is open to children in grades K-12. Contests vary each year. Click here for more information on upcoming contests.

Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge — Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge is for children in grades 5 through 8. Contest details, prizes, and deadlines vary. Click here for more information, and accept the challenge!

National Engineers' Week Future City Competition — The mission of the National Engineers Week Future City Competition is to provide a fun and exciting educational engineering program for seventh- and eighth-grade students that combines a stimulating engineering challenge with a "hands-on" application to present their vision of a city of the future. Click here for more details on upcoming competitions.

Team America Rocketry Challenge — AIA and the National Association of Rocketry (NAR), in partnership with NASA, the Department of Defense, the American Association of Physics Teachers and other AIA members, are proud to sponsor the Team America Rocketry Challenge, a national model rocket competition for U.S. high school and middle school students. A grand prize pool of over $60,000 in cash and savings bonds will be shared by the winning teams. Click here for more details.

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair — The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is the world's largest pre-college celebration of science. Held annually in May, the Intel ISEF brings together nearly 1,500 students from more than 40 nations to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prize: a $50,000 college scholarship. Science Service founded the ISEF in 1950 and is very proud to have Intel as the title sponsor of this prestigious, international competition. Click here for more information on upcoming contests.

DESIGN SQUAD Trash to Treasure Competition — The DESIGN SQUAD Trash to Treasure Competition challenges kids to take everyday discarded or recycled materials and re-engineer them into functional products. The grand prize winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize provided by the Intel Foundation and a trip to the development lab at Continuum, an award-winning international design and innovation consultancy, to build a prototype of his or her Trash to Treasure design. The competition runs April 1 - June 30, 2008 and is open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and US territories and possessions, who are between the ages of 5 and 19 (and not have graduated high school) at the time an entry is submitted.



Miscellanous Contests

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Odyssey of the Mind — Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Kids apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program. Click here for more details.