External Programs and Competitions

APL Partner Programs

College Prep is a program to help students prepare for, apply to, and succeed in college. Admission is by competitive application, and is open to all area high school students. Applicants who are interested in STEM and who have demonstrated need (such as a low-income background, first generation college experience, lack of mentors) are encouraged to apply. Applications are available in March of each year for the summer program. You may sign up to receive an application by contacting Will Gray Will Gray at will.collegeprep@gmail.com/.

Summer Programs

Looking for a summer camp to explore new STEM adventures? Here are some tools to help you find the right summer STEM challenge, both in the area near APL and nationwide.

• Advancing Science, Serving Society (AAAS) Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows Summer Program offers opportunities for students to research and write about STEM at media organizations nationwide.
• OnlineSchools.org lists summer camps as well as after-school programs on its STEM Support Resources webpage.
• Science Buddies provides a guide to finding science summer camps.
• Army Educational Outreach Program's STEM Enrichment Activities are designed to spark student interest in STEM by providing exciting, engaging, interactive, hands-on STEM experiences:

Here is a sample of the summer programs you can find on your search:

• Envision National Youth Leadership Forum
• Envision Summer Programs: Grades 3–5
• Junior State of America (JSA) Summer Programs
• National Presbyterian School
• New England Area STEM Programs
• USA Science Festival
• The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth offers summer commuter and residential programs for high-ability students at locations across the country and in Hong Kong. Courses include Introduction to Biomedical Sciences, Genetics, and Investigations in Engineering, among many others.

After-School Programs

• Afterschool Alliance hosts a database to help you locate after-school programs nationwide: http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/policyStateMap.cfm.
• College Tribe is a mentoring program for African-American boys.
• OnlineSchools.org lists STEM resources nationwide.
• Pathways to Science has a powerful search engine for finding nationwide STEM programs—for students and educators—for all levels K–12 through postgraduate. Example for high school:
• Statewide Afterschool Networks lets you find after-school networks by state nationwide.
• The Connectory allows you to search for activities and resources in your area.

Science Fairs and STEM Competitions

The local, national, and international competitions listed here are open to students and recommended by APL.

Science

• Destination Imagination
• Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
• Maryland Science Olympiad
• NOBCChE (National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers) Science Bowl
• The Department of Energy National Science Bowl
• The National Ocean Sciences Bowl

Technology

• MESA
• The Microsoft Imagine Cup

Engineering

• BotBall
• Destination Imagination
• FIRST Robotics
• VEX Robotics

Math

• American Mathematics Competitions
• Math Olympiad (for elementary and middle school students)

MESA Day Competitions

Other STEM Competitions and Science Fairs

Several websites provide comprehensive directories of science fairs. Check out the following sites to help you find a science fair:

• Education.com Science Fair Project Ideas
• NOVA Labs, a PBS site (describes competitions, opportunities for field experience, and summer programs)
• Science Buddies (has a science fair directory)
• Student Science (has a search feature for finding science fairs)
• Student Science also sponsors these competitions:
    •  Broadcom Masters (Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering Rising Stars)
    •  Intel Science Talent Search
    •  Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
  

Other sources of information about STEM competitions and science fairs include the following:

• Army Educational Outreach Program’s eCYBERMISSION competitions
• ExploraVision
• Google Science Fair
• Intel Science Talent Search
• NASA’s Missions: Imagine and Build Competition, sponsored by NASA and the LEGO Group
• National STEM Video Game Challenge
• Siemens Competition
• The White House Science Fair

STEM Scholarships and Internships for Students

• STEMnet provides a list of internships for Maryland high school students.
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center offers internships. You can search for internships on the Pathways to Science website. Here is an example: http://www.pathwaystoscience.org/programs.aspx?u=HighSchool_High%20School%20Students&sa=either&p=either&c=either&submit=y&adv=adv&all=all.