Engagement Activities
We focus on assisting Connecticut students in engaging their curiosity about and involvement in STEM-related activities. These activities supplement the typical STEM subject education received in school and allow students to pursue their interests among like-minded peers.
CT-STEM Fair
The Connecticut STEM Fair was started in 2001 and has grown rapidly over the last 15 years. The 2025 fair was held virtually and showcased the original research of more than 250 students. A key element of the Fair is the interactive judging of all entrants.
Students receive awards in four scientific categories: health, physical, environmental, and behavioral. Within each category, awards are given for both completed projects and research proposals.
The 2025 fair was fully remote this year and, like last year, students met and spoke live to judges via zoom.
The fair was split into two dates:
Completed Projects Fair February 1st, 2025
Project Proposals Fair February 8th, 2025
Judging time slots will be 10:30 AM-12:30 PM and 1:00 PM-3:00 PM on both days
There was a limit of 30 Completed Projects per school. There was no limit to the number of Research Proposals, however, the total number of projects (Completed + Proposals) per school could not exceed 50. Like last year, the fee per student was $35.
School and Teacher Registration
Schools will need to register the number of students prior to student registration. Stay tuned for 2026 Fair Information.
Student/Completed Project Registration
Registration for Completed Projects will open in December 2025. This year we are again asking for teacher/advisor confirmation of registrations and SRC paperwork. Further information on how to verify student submission in STEMWizard to follow.
Completed Project Posters and Abstracts will be due in January 2026.
Cutoff date to switch from Completed project to Research Proposal will be announced in Jan 2026.
Student/Research Proposal Registration
Research Proposal Registration will be due in December 2025.
Research Proposal Posters and Abstracts will be due in January 2026
Clicking Teacher or Student Registration will take you to STEM Wizard, a site we use to manage the fair.
No Contest is Scheduled at This Time
The Foundation regularly sponsors an essay contest. Here's an example of a recent contest:
Put on your thinking cap and tell us how you would solve ONE of these three environmental problems:
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Air Pollution
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Water Pollution
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Garbage/Trash
Essay: In 500 words or less, research how ONE of the above pollution problems affects a specific organism in Connecticut. Describe a method that you, as a Connecticut citizen, can use to prevent and/or remediate the effects that the pollution creates for that organism.
Essay Content
Scholarships
The Connecticut STEM Foundation sponsors scholarships for Connecticut students interested in STEM activities and pursuing careers in STEM fields. In keeping with its Vision and Mission to create a culture of support in Connecticut for students interested in STEM, the Connecticut STEM Foundation, Inc. has created a Three-Tier Scholarship Program.
2025 Scholarship information will be available in Feb 2025.
TIER ONE is designed to support Connecticut graduating seniors who have participated in the current year’s CT STEM Fair and plan to major in a STEM field at college. To help offset first-year college costs for these students, the CT STEM Foundation grants two scholarships, each worth $2,500.
TIER TWO is designed to support Connecticut undergraduate high school students who want to explore STEM fields during the summer. A Summer Scholarship of up to $500 (depending on the summer STEM program cost to the student) is available for one of these students. Examples of summer STEM programs include any college/university summer STEM course, a summer STEM internship program, a summer science center STEM program, or a tuition high school summer STEM program.
TIER THREE serves the same objectives as Tier Two, the difference being that it is designed for Middle School students to help spur their interest in STEM upon entering high school.
