SSCS Arduino Contest (IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society)
A free, worldwide electronics competition in which high school teams of up to three build an Arduino-based household or personal innovation device using microcontrollers, sensors, motors, and displays (no integrated AI allowed for the high school category), submitting a three-minute demo video; free starter kits are available for students who need them.
You might also like
GAMA Aviation Design Challenge
A national high school competition run by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association in which teams of at least three students use free X-Plane-powered flight simulation curricula to learn flight science, then modify an aircraft design and compete in a virtual fly-off scored on aerodynamic and performance metrics.
Anthro Day UnEssay Competition (AAA)
An annual creative-response competition from the American Anthropological Association held for Anthropology Day (February 19), with a High School division (grades 9-12) inviting submissions such as comics, podcasts, videos, or short essays responding to an anthropological theme; winners are published in Anthropology News and receive a $50 gift card.
ASHRAE High School Design Competition
A free, international virtual competition in which teams of 1-5 students ages 13-18 use SketchUp to design the HVAC system for an assigned building (2026: a fitness center in Cairo, Egypt), addressing heating/cooling loads, equipment selection, ductwork, and indoor air quality, judged by ASHRAE professionals for cash prizes.
Build A CubeSat Challenge (MIT Beaver Works)
A national MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute challenge in which teams of up to five U.S. high school students, guided by a coach, complete an online course and build hardware kits into satellite subsystems (power, optical payload, data analysis, wireless transmission) for a simulated Lunar Terrain Survey CubeSat mission, presenting via video to a panel in a live online final event.
Games for Change Student Challenge
The largest student-facing game design competition in the U.S., inviting middle and high school students nationwide to design a digital game addressing a real-world issue tied to the UN Sustainable Development Goals; the top Game of the Year winner receives a $1,000 scholarship.
GGJ Next (Global Game Jam Next)
The middle- and high-school-focused arm of the worldwide Global Game Jam, offering flexible short game-design jams (as brief as 4-6 hours, spread across one or more days) for school clubs and student teams, with a pathway into the Games for Change Student Challenge for a shared $10,000 scholarship prize.