2026 State Science Fair Awards List

The Minnesota Academy of Science is grateful to Medtronic, the Premier Sponsor of the 2026 Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair.

Medtronic Innovation Award
First Place: $750, certificate, and invitation to Medtronic Technical Fellows Day | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner
Second Place: $500, certificate, and invitation to Medtronic Technical Fellows Day | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner
Third Place: $250, certificate, and invitation to Medtronic Technical Fellows Day | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

Medtronic Technical Achievement Award: Biomedical Applications
$500, certificate, and invitation to Medtronic Technical Fellows Day | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

Medtronic Technical Achievement Award: Science & Engineering
$500, certificate, and invitation to Medtronic Technical Fellows Day | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

Medtronic Technical Achievement Award: Sustainability
$500, certificate, and invitation to Medtronic Technical Fellows Day | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

The Minnesota Academy of Science thanks the following organizations for sponsoring awards as part of the Minnesota State Science & Engineering Fair.

3M
Young Inventor Recognition
$100 and certificate | 15 high school winners and 15 middle school winners
Science Applied to Life Award
First Place: $500 | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner
Second Place: $300 | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner
Third Place: $200 | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

American Chemical Society — Minnesota Section
Outstanding Experimental Project in Chemistry
First Place, High School: $150 | 1 high school winner
First Place, Middle School: $100 | 1 middle school winner
Honorable Mention: Subscription to ChemMatters | 3 high school winners and 3 middle school winners

American Fisheries Society — Minnesota Chapter
Aquatic Sciences Excellence Award
Book and Fishing Pole | 6 high school winners and 6 middle school winners

American Heart Association
The American Heart Association Community Impact Award
Certificate | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

American Institute of Professional Geologists
AIPG Earth & Environmental Sciences Award
Fossil or geologic specimen, book, and certificate | 3 winners

American Psychological Association
Achievement in Research in Psychological Science
Certificate and membership | 1 high school winner

American Society of Plumbing Engineers
Mechanical Engineering Award
First Place: $350 | 1 winner
Second Place: $150 | 1 winner

Association for Women Geoscientists
Student Award for Geoscience Excellence
Certificate | 1 female-identifying high school winner

Beckman Coulter
Excellence in Biology Awards
High School: $1,000 | 2 winners
Middle School : $500 | 2 winners
Excellence in Engineering Awards
High School: $1,000 | 2 winners
Middle School : $500 | 2 winners

Broadcom Foundation
Coding with Commitment Award
$250 gift card, Raspberry Pi Foundation Pico Kit, and certificate | 1 middle school winner

Christian Aurup
Dr. Lise Aurup Memorial Award
$100 | 1 high school winner

Citadel
Citadel Securities Innovation Prize
$100 | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

DiaSorin
Merit Award
$500 | 5 middle school winners

Ecolab
Ecolab Food Safety Award
$700 | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner
Ecolab Water Vision Award
$700 | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

Emerson
STEM Excellence Award
$500 | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

Empowering Women in Science
Rosalind E. Franklin Perseverance in STEM Award
$100 and science journal | 1 female-identifying or gender minority-identifying high school winner and 1 female-identifying or gender minority-identifying middle school winner

Hamline University Department of Physics
Excellence in Renewable Energy and Sustainability Award
$100 scholarship to Hamline’s Summer Physics Camp (Young Physicist Camp or Microscope Adventure Camp) and certificate | 3 high school winners

Institute of Food Technologists — Minnesota Section
2026 Special Award in Food Science
First Place: $500 | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner
Second Place: $250 | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

Land O’ Lakes
Land O’Lakes Award for Food Innovation
$500 | 2 high school winners and 2 middle school winners

Lemelson Foundation
Lemelson Early Inventor Prize
$100 and certificate | 1 middle school winner

Minnesota Academy of Science Board of Directors Award
Aspiring Scientist Award

$50 and certificate | 10 middle school winners

Minnesota Environmental Health Association
Award for Excellence in Environmental Health Science
First Place, High School: $200 | 1 high school winner
Second Place, High School: $100 | 1 high school winner
Third Place, High School: $50 | 1 high school winner
First Place, Middle School: $100 | 1 middle school winner
Second Place, Middle School: $50 | 1 middle school winner

Muminah Nihaar Mohammed
The Trailblazer Award
Trophy | 1 high school winner
The Ripple Effect Award
Trophy | 1 middle school winner

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Earth Systems Science Award
Certificate and invitation to webinar with scientist | 1 winner

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award
Certificate and lapel pin | 1 winner

Regeneron
Regeneron Biomedical Science Award
$375 and certificate | 1 high school winner

Ricoh
Sustainable Development Award
Certificate | 1 winner

Robocyclers
Outstanding Experimental Design Award
$100 and certificate | 1 middle school winner

Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB)
Outstanding Achievement for Ability and Creativity in In Vitro Biology
Certificate and membership in SIVB | 1 winner in 11th grade

The Thinking Spot
The Thinking Spot Science Award
First Place: certificate and $50 gift card to The Thinking Spot bookstore | 1 middle school winner

Second Place: certificate and $30 gift card to The Thinking Spot bookstore | 1 middle school winner

Third Place: certificate and $20 gift card to The Thinking Spot bookstore | 1 middle school winner

Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge
Certificate and invitation to apply to national competition | Top 10% of middle school students

Thompson Family
The Amazing Science Award of Awesomeness
$50 and certificate | 4 winners

Kailey Soller
Women in Science - Impact Award
Women in Science book and a $50 gift card | 1 high school winner and 1 middle school winner

Twin Cities Meteorological Society
Twin Cities Meteorological Society Award
Certificate and prize | 1 winner

University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences
Sustainable Solutions Award: Bioproducts & Biosystems Engineering

First Place: $100 | 1 high school winner

Second Place: $50 | 1 high school winner

Sustainable Solutions Award: Sustainable Systems Management
First Place: $100 | 1 high school winner

Second Place: $50 | 1 high school winner

U.S. Air Force
Air Force Achievement Award
Certificate and prize | 4 high school winners

U.S. Metric Association
Best Use of the International System of Units
Certificate and U.S. Metric Association membership | 1 winner

U.S. Navy
Naval Science Award
High School: medal and certificate | 4 winners
Middle School: medal and certificate | 4 winners

U.S. Stockholm Water Environment Federation
Stockholm Junior Water Prize
Certificate and entry into state competition | Number of winners varies

Yale Science & Engineering Association
Most Outstanding Exhibit in Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics
Certificate and eBook | 1 high school winner

Minnesota Academy of Science Awards

The Minnesota Academy of Science Grand Awards recognize excellence in scientific research at the middle school and high school level. The top 5% of projects presented at MSSEF receive the Gold Award. The next 10% of projects receive the Silver Award and the next 15% of projects receive the Bronze Award. Projects are ranked according to judge scores and the competitiveness of the category in which students present.

International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Award

The ISEF Award recognizes up to four of the top high school projects. Winners receive an all-expense-paid trip to compete in ISEF. Regeneron ISEF 2026 will be held from May 9-15 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.  ISEF is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition; more than 1,700 high school students from over 70 countries and territories showcase their research at ISEF.