National Schools Poster Competition

A key skill for great scientists and investigators is the ability to create and communicate results.

The National Schools Poster Competition engages teams of Year 3-12 students in small-scale industry-style investigations.

Students determine a practical question, within any topic or field, which they’d like to investigate and then design, conduct and ultimately present their investigation and its results in a poster format.

It develops collaboration, creativity, communication and quantitative skills needed in this data-science age, and addresses core curriculum outcomes.

Collection, presentation and interpretation of data relevant to addressing a key question of interest - STEM in practice!

So, what would you like to investigate?

Winning entries of the national event may be eligible to progress to the international competition!

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National Schools Poster Competition

Entry criteria

  • Entry is FREE!
  • Open to teams consisting of between two and five* members
  • Each project must have a contact supervisor (e.g. teacher, parent, vacation coordinator, tutor) who is responsible for collecting all relevant permissions and registering and submitting students’ projects
  • Contact supervisor should register by 30 September each year
  • Visit the National Schools Poster Competition for all details

* to be eligible to progress to the International Competition teams must comprise two to three students

Divisions

  • Stage 2 (Years 3-4)
  • Stage 3 (Years 5-6)
  • Stage 4 (Years 7-8)
  • Stage 5 (Years 9-10)
  • Stage 6 (Years 11-12)
  • Undergraduate

The highest grade of any of the team's members will define the division. E.g. a team with two Year 8 students and one Year 9 student would be in Stage 5.

Example investigations

  • Can one’s height be predicted based on body part lengths (forensic anthropology)?
  • How do various brands of cereal compare in terms of nutrition?
  • How does electricity or water usage vary with numbers of members in a household?
  • Do people prefer the taste of certain brands (blind taste-tests: Aldi vs Coles)?
  • Do Vitamin C levels differ between organic and non-organic oranges?

For further information, including guidelines, tips, rules, judging criteria and submissions, see the National Schools Poster Competition website.