Chemical Education Foundation's (CEF's) The Challenge for Middle Schoolers—7 Reasons Why You Should Apply
A good way to challenge yourself in middle school and prepare for high school and beyond is by participating in the many different kinds of STEM competitions available. By participating in these contests, you gain experience, knowledge, and potentially recognition—all important factors that will help you stand out when you apply for high school programs or internships.
Many of these contests are good opportunities to build your profile, showcasing your interest and abilities in science and problem-solving. Plus, you’ll develop critical thinking skills, teamwork, and confidence, which are important for any future STEM career or college application. Our blog today covers one such opportunity to consider—The Challenge by the Chemical Education Foundation (or CEF).
What is The Challenge all about?
The You Be the Chemist Challenge (often shortened to The Challenge) is a nationwide team-based academic competition for middle schoolers interested in entrepreneurship and sustainability. It is the flagship program of the Chemical Education Foundation (CEF) and aims to provide young students the opportunity to explore STEM and sustainability. The Challenge is quite holistic, featuring both video composition for a startup idea as well as local and regional quizzing rounds.
This gives you a platform to apply theoretical knowledge (that you can get from CEF’s resources) in a practical and competitive setting. The structure of the Challenge covers essential STEM concepts, and the video submission requires strong critical thinking and teamwork, testing both your understanding and problem-solving skills. Throughout the competition, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how scientific principles affect everyday life, from the environment to technology.
CEF, founded in 1989, is a nonprofit that promotes science education and creates programs like this one to build strong foundations in chemistry for students. Their goal is to prepare the next generation of innovators by making STEM accessible and engaging.
Is The Challenge prestigious?
Yes, The Challenge is a prestigious competition. Over 17,000 students participated last year across the U.S. and Canada. Only the top 5 teams from each state move to the National Challenge, making it an extremely selective competition. The level of learning is advanced, as you’ll be creating a startup business pitch video and competing with teams in quiz rounds. Past winners have worked on such innovative concepts as self-recharging batteries, dirt-powered fuel cells, and pyrolysis plants. Competing in The Challenge can give you an advantage, especially when applying to selective STEM programs in high school. It’s a way to prove that you’re ready for more advanced opportunities.
Who is eligible to apply?
To participate in The Challenge, you need to be enrolled in 5th through 8th grade and form a team with 2 to 3 other students. The competition is open to students based in the U.S. or Canada.
How is CEF’s The Challenge structured?
The Challenge follows a slightly different structure from your usual quiz competition. The timeline is as follows:
October 1, 2024: Registration opens for all teams.
December 20, 2024: Registration closes.
January 15, 2025: Team coordinators must finalize and finish team submissions. Team coordinators are educators or parents who mentor your team and manage all logistics. Your team must have a coordinator.
January 18, 2025: In-person regional challenges begin. Each regional challenge (hosted at various locations) is a quiz where you and your team need to solve questions together. There are four rounds with 10 questions each, and the top teams are determined by the final scoring.
March 5 & 8, 2025: These are the available dates for the virtual regional challenges, only for teams that have no in-person challenges near them.
March 21, 2025: This is the due date for providing your team’s video submission. The video submission requires an investigation of earth science concepts and is essentially a start-up pitch for a company that offers a sustainable solution to a community problem. This video should:
Be 5-7 minutes long.
Introduce your start-up, the industry it works in, and at least three careers in the company relevant to your solution.
Explain the problem you’re choosing to address.
Present an innovative solution in detail, describing the earth science concepts and fundamental chemistry concepts involved. The solution should be accompanied by visuals, strengths, weaknesses, and an explanation of how it uses at least one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
National Challenge, June 10 & 11, 2025: After results are declared in May 2025, the top teams are eligible to compete at the national event in Houston, Texas, where questions are more difficult, and the competition is more intense. Here, you will present your research and ideas from the video submission to a panel of judges, and the top three teams stand to win scholarships!
The full rules document is available here, and we encourage you to go over it thoroughly!
7 reasons why you should participate in The Challenge
Great way to deepen your chemistry knowledge: The Challenge goes beyond school textbooks and prompts you to think strategically about solving community problems, giving you a chance to understand real-world chemistry applications deeply. CEF also offers plenty of resources that you can use to get a head start.
You will get to compete at a national level: You’ll be competing with some of the brightest middle school students from across the country, making this an exclusive opportunity and exposing you to a wide variety of talent and ideas from your peers.
It’s a good way to build critical thinking skills: The quiz questions are designed to stretch your thinking and problem-solving abilities, which can help you in all academic subjects. The video submission is even more in-depth, requiring you to think holistically using both business and scientific principles.
It’s a prestigious opportunity: Winning or even participating in The Challenge can significantly boost your application to high school programs, STEM camps, and more.
There’s no cost of entry or application: Since the challenge is completely free to enter and participate in, there’s nothing stopping you from forming a team and trying your best.
You could secure valuable scholarships: If you’re able to distinguish yourself as one of the top three teams in the country, there are valuable scholarships on offer that can help you in furthering your academic endeavors.
Good networking opportunities: Through the regional challenges as well as the national challenge, you'll get to network with other students who share your passion for STEM, and possibly form long-lasting friendships.
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, you could also consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.