Extracurricular Activities for Middle School Students (Grades 6–8)

Middle school is when interests become identities: a 6th grader who tries MATHCOUNTS, Science Olympiad, or a first robotics season is choosing what their high school story starts from.

Every program here accepts students in grades 6–8 — most are free, many are national, and the strong ones hand you a ladder straight into their high school divisions.

135 verified programs match this page; 23 of the featured listings are completely free; 15 can be done online.

Featured programs

Browse 30+ curated programs for high school students:

• Presidential AI Challenge — White House Office of Science and Technology Policy: National K-12 AI competition where students build real-world AI solutions for community challenges, with finals at the White House.
• NASA Student Launch — NASA: Design and launch high-power rockets in this exciting STEM competition. Gain hands-on aerospace experience, boost college applications, and explore en
• Mandelbrot Competition — Mandelbrot Competition: Join a dynamic online math competition for grades 6-12 featuring individual and team rounds. Build problem-solving skills, enhance teamwork, and boost
• World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY) — Ready AI: Join a global AI competition for grades 6-12 to solve real-world problems using artificial intelligence. Build STEM skills, boost college applications
• Conrad Challenge: Innovation Competition — Conrad Foundation: Create innovative solutions to real-world problems in categories like aerospace, cybersecurity, health, and energy. Win scholarships and recognition.
• National STEM Video Game Challenge — Entertainment Software Association Foundation: Design video games in this free STEM competition for grades 5-12. Build coding skills, boost creativity, and enhance college applications with hands-o
• SeaPerch Underwater Robotics Program — Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Foundation & RoboNation: Build underwater robots in this hands-on STEM competition for grades 6-12. Gain engineering skills, boost college applications, and explore marine rob
• StellarXplorers Space Systems Competition — Air Force Association: Explore orbital mechanics and space systems design in this free, virtual STEM competition for grades 6-12. Boost college applications with hands-on ae
• eCYBERMISSION STEM Competition — U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP): A free, virtual STEM competition where 6–9 grade teams solve real-world community problems with science and engineering.
• Georgia Educational Technology Fair — Georgia Educational Technology Fair, Inc.: Statewide technology competition where Georgia students showcase digital projects and skills across multiple tech categories.
• Technovation Families — Technovation: Learn coding and app development with Technovation Families' free virtual workshops. Perfect for grades 8-18 to build STEM skills and boost college ap
• Cowbellpedia Mathematics Competition — Promasidor Nigeria Limited: A Nigerian televised mathematics competition for junior secondary students, sponsored by Cowbell Milk.
• StudentCam Documentary Competition — C-SPAN: StudentCam is C-SPAN’s annual national video documentary competition for U.S. middle and high school students.
• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards - Gold Medal Portfolio — Alliance for Young Artists & Writers: Highest honor in Scholastic Awards for exceptional art or writing portfolios. Past winners include Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath.
• UC Berkeley ATDP — UC Berkeley: Academic Talent Development Program for gifted students.
• Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize — Australian Museum: A national Australian short science film competition for school students, encouraging creative communication of scientific ideas.
• University of Cape Town Mathematics Competition — University of Cape Town: A major annual math contest for school learners in South Africa, hosted by the University of Cape Town’s Mathematics Department.
• Vanderbilt Programs for Talented Youth (PTY) — Vanderbilt University: Summer and weekend academic enrichment programs at Vanderbilt for gifted K-12 students, offering fast-paced college-level courses in math, science, wr
• National German Exam — American Association of Teachers of German: Challenge your German skills with this national language competition for grades 7-12. Boost your college applications while advancing language profici
• World Education Games Online Competition — 3P Learning: A global online math, literacy, and science competition for K–12 students run by 3P Learning, held over multiple themed challenge days.
• Young Leaders for Peace at the University for Peace — University for Peace: Young Leaders for Peace (YLP) is a two-week summer leadership programme for high school students in collaboration with the University for Peace-UN Man
• BEST Robotics Competition — BEST Robotics: Free robotics competition. Six-week design challenge.
• Le Grand Concours - National French Contest — American Association of Teachers of French: National French language competition. 5 levels from elementary to AP.
• National Junior Honor Society — NASSP: Join a prestigious middle school honor society for grades 6-9! Build leadership skills, enhance service experience, and boost your college application
• CodeCombat Championship — CodeCombat: Compete in a free online coding competition for grades 6-12. Build game AI, enhance programming skills, and boost your college applications with hands
• Summit STEM Fellowship (SSF) — Summit Education: The Summit STEM Fellowship (SSF) is a virtual summer program for top STEM students around the world. Students learn from mentors at Harvard, Stanford,
• Underline Space Roundtable — Space Minds Center: The Space Minds Center was created to inspire interest and proactive thinking about space policy in emerging political science and international relat
• Technovation Girls — Technovation: Empower your future through this global competition for grades 6-12. Build apps, solve real-world problems with AI, and gain hands-on STEM and leaders
• Destination Imagination Challenge Experience — Destination Imagination: Join a hands-on STEAM competition for grades 6-12, solving creative challenges while building teamwork, problem-solving, and innovation skills for col
• Sony World Photography Awards Youth Competition — World Photography Organisation: Showcase your creativity in this free international photography competition for grades 7-12. Build your portfolio, gain recognition, and strengthen co

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