SPOKANE, Wash. — Three hundred middle school students from across eastern Washington gathered Wednesday at Spokane Community College to compete in the Regional STEM Superstar Competition, marking the largest turnout in the event’s three-year history.
The competition, held at The Lair on campus, brought together young innovators from multiple school districts to showcase hours of preparation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects.
Students competed in six categories: forensic science, CO2 cars, Minecraft coding, photography and graphic design, healthcare practices, and problem solving. The hands-on competition allowed participants to demonstrate technical skills while working alongside peers who share their passion for STEM fields.
“It is really fun, I am kinda nervous but then again very excited,” said Jackson Palmer, a seventh-grader preparing for the robotics portion of the competition.
Jacob Vanhell, also a seventh-grader at Cheney Middle School, expressed enthusiasm about finally testing his team’s robot in competition. “We get to test out our robot finally, and we get to compete in front of all these people,” Vanhell said.
Both Jackson and Jacob spent months preparing their robots for Wednesday’s competition.
The event serves multiple purposes beyond determining winners in each category. Organizers emphasize that the competition provides students an opportunity to connect with other young people who share their interests in STEM fields while celebrating student achievement.
COPYRIGHT 2026 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
