(1) First Place Prize: First Place Prize winner will receive a $100,000 college scholarship to be paid directly into a 529 account set up by the parent/guardian to be used for educational purposes; and a 2-night trip in Spring 2027 for winner and one guest (his/her parent/legal guardian) to attend the Orkin Insect Zoo at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. ARV of the First Place Prize is $103,000.

(1) Second Place Prize: Second Place Prize winner will receive a $40,000 college Scholarship to be paid directly into a 529 account set up by the parent/guardian to be used for educational purposes. ARV of the Second Place Prize is $40,000.

(1) Third Place Prize: Third Place Prize winner will receive a $20,000 college Scholarship to be paid directly into a 529 account set up by the parent/guardian to be used for educational purposes. ARV of the Third Place Prize is $20,000.

(4) Honorable Mention Prizes: Honorable Mention Prize winners will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to be paid directly into a 529 account set up by the parent/guardian to be used for educational purposes. ARV of the Honorable Mention Prize is $5,000 each.

Open only to high school or equivalent students who are at the time and date of entry legal residents and physically located in one of the fifty United States (including the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory); fourteen to eighteen years of age; and currently enrolled in a public state-accredited, private/parochial school or homeschool that is located in the fifty United States or the District of Columbia or a U.S. Territory.

Limit one Entry per Entrant for the duration of the Submission Period.

Contest is to encourage scientific thinking and design-based problem solving by using insects as a source of inspiration and inquiry. It aims to identify young people (ages 14-18) who show curiosity, creativity and potential interest in life sciences, including entomology and related fields.