SSP Middle School Program finalists displaying their research to the public at the National Academy of Science.

The SSP Middle School Program is the only U.S. national science competition for science fair participants in grades 5–8. 300 semifinalists and then 30 Finalists are selected annually from a national field of thousands to participate in the finals of this competition. Gathering in Washington, D.C. each October, the Finalists present their projects to judges, fellow students and the public.  In addition, Finalists work in teams on a variety of scientific experiments to judge their science, reasoning and communication skills.

The SSP Middle School Program was born from our commitment to serving the middle school science fair audience as we have done for 9 years with Discovery Communications through the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. Society for Science & the Public is proud to offer this program to encourage middle school students to pursue their interest in science and independent research.

SSP will announce the 300 semifinalists of the SSP Middle School Program 2008 on Wednesday, September 3, 2008.  Our website will contain the information and each semifinalist will receive a mailing of congratulations.  The 30 finalists will be announced on Wednesday, September 17.All entrants of the program will be notified by no later than September 30 of their final status.

SSP Middle School Program 2008 semifinalist announcement- September 3, 2008 @ 10AM, EDT

• SSP Middle School Program 2008 Semifinalist List
• SSP Middle School Program 2008 Semifinalist Press Release

From the semifinalists, 30 Finalists will be chosen to win an all expense paid trip to Washington DC in October 2008. Finalists will be announced Wednesday, September 17, 2008. The SSP Middle School Program 2008 Finalists will have the opportunity to present their original science project to judges and the public at the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences on Sunday, October 19.  The Koshland Science Museum will also host the team science experiments the following day. 

SSP Middle School Program 2008 finalist announcement- September 17, 2008 @ 10AM, EDT

SSP Middle School Program 2008 Nominees

Across the country, over 7,500 students were nominated for the Society for Science & the Public Middle School Program 2008 at science fairs throughout the spring.  Over 1,900 of these nominees submitted an online entry by the deadline and won an entry prize. The following is a list of nominees who came to the site to register.

SSP Middle School Program 2008 Nominee List