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.

125 verified programs match this page; 23 of the featured listings are completely free; 11 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.
• 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
• 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
• 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.
• 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,
• Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care — Melbourne City College Australia : Melbourne City College Australia serves as a vibrant hub for both local and international students, helping bridge the gap between ambition and achiev
• 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
• Animal Advocacy Opportunity for Teens — Fur-Ever Friends Foundation: Hello! I'm Jemma, and I am a teen passionate about animal welfare. I am the outreach of a group called Fur-Ever Friends Foundation. We are a youth-le
• 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
• Best Delegate Model UN Institute — Best Delegate: Intensive Model UN training program teaching research, public speaking, and diplomacy skills. Programs available online and in-person for beginners th
• Penn State Science-U STEM Camps — Penn State University: Immersive residential STEM camps at Penn State for middle and high school students covering robotics, cybersecurity, engineering, and life sciences on
• 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
• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards — Scholastic Inc. / Alliance for Young Artists & Writers: The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the nation's longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7–12. Over $
• UC Berkeley ATDP — UC Berkeley: Academic Talent Development Program for gifted students.
• EAA Air Academy — Experimental Aircraft Association: Week-long aviation camps at EAA headquarters. Includes flight training time. Multiple age-appropriate tracks.
• California State Science Fair — California Science Center: Largest state science fair in the US. Winners qualify for prestigious national and international competitions.
• Davidson Academy of Nevada — Davidson Institute: Free public school for profoundly gifted students; college-level courses
• River of Words Environmental Poetry & Art Contest — Library of Congress: Environmental poetry and art competition for K-12 students.
• Genes in Space Competition — miniPCR Bio: Winning experiment is conducted aboard the International Space Station
• MATHCOUNTS National Countdown Round Finalist — MATHCOUNTS: Top 12 at national MATHCOUNTS compete in Countdown Round. Elite middle school math.
• Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes — Barron Prize: 25 winners receive $10,000. For young leaders making positive difference.
• National History Day Kenneth E. Behring National Contest Winner — National History Day: National winners in documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website categories. Over 500,000 students compete annually. Top prizes include colleg
• 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.
• Ocean Awareness Contest First Place — Bow Seat: Art, writing, film, music about ocean conservation. $1,500+ prizes.
• BEST Robotics Competition — BEST Robotics: Free robotics competition. Six-week design challenge.
• Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) National Finalist — Aerospace Industries Association: 100 teams compete at nationals. Design/build rockets to specific altitude/time. Winners represent USA at international.
• Future City Competition — DiscoverE: Design city of the future. Teams create models, essays, and presentations for national finals in DC.
• Broadcom MASTERS National Finalist — Society for Science: Top STEM competition for middle schoolers. 30 finalists compete in DC.
• StudentCam Documentary Competition — C-SPAN: StudentCam is C-SPAN’s annual national video documentary competition for U.S. middle and high school students.
• Georgia Educational Technology Fair — Georgia Educational Technology Fair, Inc.: Statewide technology competition where Georgia students showcase digital projects and skills across multiple tech categories.

Frequently asked questions