Passing along some information —
From Elizabeth Deakin: Heading into its 10th year, eCYBERMISSION is a free, web-based Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics competition for students in grades 6-9. Your students can compete against other students in their grades for state, regional, and national awards. Teams consisting of 3-4 students and a team advisor would work to solve problems in their community utilizing the scientific method, scientific inquiry or engineering design process and can win at the state, regional and national levels. To date, more than $8.5 million has been awarded to students throughout the country with more to be awarded in 2012.
Deadline to register is  December 16, 2011. For more info, see our overview video about eCybermission.  Some past winners include

• The 6th grade Hardheads team was recognized by judges for their experiments with materials used to support sports helmets. For their project, the students conducted experiments on multiple materials for possible use in sports helmets, with the hope of finding a material that decreases the prevalence of concussions and other head injuries.
• The 8th grade Landroids team tested the elements necessary to create a device that could detect deer on roads.
• The 9th grade Chocolate Addiction team investigated how makeup can cause damage to the skin when it has been exposed to certain independent variables, such as heat or water.
• Other past winners can be found on the project website.