Science Essay Contest: Middle School

+ Deadline is November 1, 2025

Entry Guidelines

  • The SACP Middle School Essay Contest is open to all students in grades 7 through 9 in our 8 state region, which includes PA, WV, OH, VA, DE, MD, NY and NJ.
  • Supply all information requested on the front of this form.
  • The essay should have no more than 2500 characters. The essay is to be in prose (no poetry please), and be the independent work of the student. Any essay containing plagiarized material will result in rejection of the essay.
  • To be fair to all contestants, the use of artificial intelligence software, including ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, or similar tools, is not permitted. Any essay found to contain AI-generated material will result in rejection of the essay.
  • Student essays must be submitted by a faculty member of the student’s school.
  • No individual school may submit more than two essays in the middle school contest.
  • Failure to comply with these instructions may result in a scoring penalty or rejection of the essay.

Essay Topics:

Select ONE topic for submission. Cite all references in MLA format.

1) Create a superhero whose powers are based on real chemical principles or reactions (e.g., exothermic explosions, acid-base reactions, or the properties of elements). What is their origin story? What are their powers and weaknesses? How do they use chemistry to solve problems?

2) If you could travel back in time to witness one important chemistry discovery or moment in the history of chemistry (like the development of the periodic table, the discovery of penicillin, or the invention of synthetic dyes) what would it be and why? Describe the scene, why it’s important and what you would learn.

Judging Guidelines

Judging will be based on the following criteria:
 + Content (40%)
 + Creativity (20%)
 + Composition (30%)
 + Following Directions (10%)

Awards

1st Place: $150
2nd Place: $100
3rd Place: $50
Honorable Mentions (10 each): $25

Student home address(Required)
 
 
 
List all resources used in MLA format. When Internet resources are cited, they should also utilize the MLA format. Simply listing a search engine is not an acceptable citation.
I hereby certify that the above statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I understand that a false statement may disqualify me.(Required)