Orlando Science Center SCIENCE COMPETITIONS

Orlando Science Center is committed to supporting children and young adults in their scientific endeavors. According to a study published in the International Journal of Science Education, students who participate in STEM competitions are more likely to choose STEM fields of study after high school than those who do not. To encourage students to foster their interest in these fields, we host science competitions for Grades K-12 each school year. As students grow older and gain experience, they can participate in increasingly challenging competitions at the Science Center with the potential to earn cash prizes and scholarships!

Curtis Rising Stars Challenge

The Curtis Rising Stars Science Challenge introduces young students to science competitions and helps them develop teamwork skills. The competition is open to students in equivalent Grades K-5, who register through their educational organization.

Students are first prepared through pre-activities and prompts with their class at school. The experience culminates in the day-long competition at Orlando Science Center when students put their STEM skills into practice!

Curtis Kinetic Science Competition

The Curtis Kinetic Science Competition is open to students in middle school grades, in teams of up to five. Teams of tinkerers and budding engineers compete for cash prizes! This competition challenges students to transform ordinary and found objects into a kinetic system inspired by Rube Goldberg’s famous machines.

Lockheed Martin Science Challenge

The Lockheed Martin Science Challenge provides county science fair winners an opportunity to present their projects to a team of expert judges before advancing to the state science fair.

Congratulations to this year’s winner, Camille A. Duma, who took home the Best in Fair Scholarship for her project titled “Application of MichaelisMenten Rational Function Models, Parametric Calculations, and Differential Equations to Determine the Most Influential Factor on Histamine Levels”.

DR. NELSON YING SCIENCE COMPETITION

This competition encourages young minds to save the world! Local scientist, entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr. Nelson Ying has partnered with Orlando Science Center since 1999 to celebrate local students’ exemplary achievements.

This competition is open to individual students in Grades 9–12. Projects can be classified into a wide range of STEM topics, but they always have one thing in common: the goal to help humanity through scientific research.