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THE COMPETITION

Inspired by kids, built by Burns & McDonnell.

Competition packet will be posted July 2025.

WHAT IT IS

It’s Kansas City’s most exciting K-12 STEM competition — Burns & McDonnell Battle of the Brains. Area schools can earn a grant for STEM education by dreaming up an exhibit concept for Science City — and one student team sees its idea come to life in a big way! It’s a fantastic, no-cost experience for students and teachers — thinking big, collaborating and having fun. So far, more than 30,000 students in 55 school districts have benefited from this immersive educational opportunity.

 

BENEFITS

  • No-cost, high-reward and relevant experience for students and teachers
  • A competition for all — general ed classrooms, teacher-led enrichment, gifted programs, etc.
  • Project-based learning that aligns with NGSS Science & Engineering Practices and can be incorporated into existing curriculum
  • Encourages teamwork, collaboration and executive functioning skills with a real-world challenge
  • Process aligns with 21st-century skills used by Burns & McDonnell professionals every day
  • Supports big thinking and a growth mindset

PARTICIPANTS

Burns & McDonnell Battle of the Brains has two divisions: elementary (K-6) and secondary (7-12). Each team must design a STEM exhibit focused around a single topic or main idea.

  • Entrants must be full-time K-12 students and be currently enrolled in and attending a public, private, parochial or home-based school in any of the following counties:
    • KS: Atchison, Douglas, Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Shawnee and Wyandotte.
    • MO: Bates, Buchanan, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Livingston, Platte and Ray.
  • Team size is limited to 25 students. A school may submit an unlimited number of entries.
  • Each team may have one leader or two co-leaders who are educators employed by the school. Additional adults are considered mentors.

PROPOSAL DELIVERABLES

The competition packet will be available July 2025. Typical proposal elements include a cover letter, descriptions and images of interactive exhibit elements, exhibit floor plan, constructability statement and construction materials estimate and commercial video.

Judging

Burns & McDonnell employee-owners and Science City staff evaluate each team’s proposal based on the competition rubric. Only 10 entries from each division are elevated to a top 20. The top 5 entries are revealed at the awards ceremony.

Grant Distribution

The Burns & McDonnell Foundation awards $155,000-plus in grants. The grand prize winner also has the opportunity to work with Burns & McDonnell architects, engineers, construction managers, graphic designers and researchers to bring its ideas to life at Science City.

  • $50,000 grand prize
  • $25,000 finalist
  • $20,000 finalist
  • $15,000 finalist
  • $10,000 finalist
  • and 15 $2,500 finalists

The History

In 2011, our leaders created a gigantic idea: a competition to inspire kids to think big about STEM in support of Science City. The concept was truly unique in the academic space — students would compete to design a science center concept, which would come to life as a million-dollar exhibit at Science City. Since then, Burns & McDonnell Battle of the Brains has grown to become one of the most robust K-12 STEM competitions in the United States. Learn more about the journey.