2026 AIChE K-12 STEM Outreach Competition
The 2026 AIChE K–12 STEM Outreach Competition will take place Sunday, November 8, 2026 in conjunction with the 2026 AIChE Annual Meeting and Annual Student Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. We are so excited to bring K-12 students, parents, guardians, and teachers a truly “hands-on” experience.
The AIChE K–12 STEM Outreach Competition is presented by the AIChE K-12 Committee and Executive Student Committee and is generously supported by the AIChE Foundation. Through the AIChE K-12 STEM Outreach Competition, AIChE seeks to:
- Connect members of the AIChE & K-12 communities
- Increase the AIChE community’s engagement in K-12 STEM Outreach
- Build & grow a central repository of educational resources for use in K-12 STEM Outreach initiatives
Participate
Open eyes to the wonders of STEM and inspire your peers when you showcase your interactive STEM modules to 100+ elementary, middle, and high school students, their parents/guardians and educators, and members of the AIChE community.
Modules can take the form of discussions, demonstrations, or experiments, and can address any concept within the range of STEM, but will ideally connect to concepts or applications within chemical engineering. Each module will have both an experiential component and a written component.
Eligible AIChE members are encouraged to submit an entry for an opportunity to share their K-12 STEM module during the AIChE K-12 STEM Outreach Competition.
What's New in 2026?
To our returning competitors, welcome back! Here is a quick overview of some important adjustments to the competition from previous years. Please be sure to reference the latest versions of all competition documentation, linked below, for full instructions and all requirements.
- The submission deadline is earlier than past years. This year's deadline is May 29, 2026. This is so that module reviewers will have suuficient time to evaluate submissions and provide feedback and acceptance notices well before the early bird registration deadline for the AIChE Annual Student Conference and Annual Meeting.
- The 2026 AIChE K-12 STEM Showcase & Outreach Competition will take place in-person in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, on Sunday, November 8, 2026. Accepted modules will be notified of their participation after the August 29, 2026 review deadline.
- Prospective competitors are still required to submit video demonstrations of their module, however the video submission is not due before entry before the May 29, 2026 deadline. Video demonstartions of your module can should be submitted before September 12, 2026. These videos will live along with finalists’ modules in the AIChE K-12 Module Database.
- Handout #1 for module submissions has been updated to receive more details on specifics of the demonstration so that parents and educators that are looking to recreate the demonstration with their students and children can have a better understanding of the themes surrounding the module.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Award | Evaluation Criteria Modules will be assessed by volunteer judges on 10 criteria:
Awards EXECUTIVE STUDENT COMMITTEE AWARDS for undergraduate student-submitted modules accepted for presentation and participation in the competition
K-12 COMMITTEE AWARDS for non- undergraduate student submitted modules accepted for presentation and participation in the competition:
And more
|
| Deadline | May 29, 2025 |
| Administrators | Executive Student Committee (ESC), Societal Impact Operating Council (SIOC) |
| Presentation | Awards will be presented at the conclusion of the event. Award winning modules will be included in a central repository of educational resources for use in K-12 STEM Outreach initiatives. |
| Nomination Instructions | Entry Interested participants must review and fulfill all eligibility criteria, requirements for modules, and all entry requirements in their entirety by the specified deadline in order to be considered for participation in the competition. Please be advised that due to space and time limitations, we will not be able to accept all submitted modules for participation in the competition. Competitors may submit a maximum of one competition entry per target audience age group, for a maximum of four total submissions from any competing entity. Eligibility Criteria
Requirements, Forms, & Documents Entry Form Questions (link to access form is below) Safety Assessment and Institute Policies Attestation Form Deadline for Entry May 29th, 11:59 PM ET
Timeline for Notification Primary contacts associated with submissions accepted for presentation will be notified of acceptance in late-August (Target: August 29th)
Entry Instructions Ready to submit your module? Step 1: Submit an ENTRY FORM Step 2: Submit a VIDEO *Prior to uploading, please ensure that your video file name matches your "Name of Module" as indicated in your entry form. Please also include the name of the file you are uploading using the form. Contact k12@aiche.org with any related questions. |
| Sponsors | AIChE Doing a World of Good |
