2026 Think Science Competition Results

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Curious minds, creative solutions, and exciting discoveries took centre stage in Think Science! 2026. Students from across Australia embraced the challenge, applying critical thinking and scientific inquiry to investigate real-world problems and showcase their passion for science.

This year we were pleased to have over 1400 students participating from 55 schools across all six states and the ACT—including many from rural and regional communities.

Our judges were amazed by the talent on display in the 229 video entries submitted this year, with students showcasing outstanding creativity, curiosity, and scientific inquiry. Take a look at the winning entries below and get inspired by these amazing young scientists.

We sincerely thank all participating students, schools, and teachers whose support and commitment made this event possible!

Think Science

Think Science! 2026 CompetitionExplore now!

Years 3-4 winning entries

Place	School	State	Investigation title	Team members
1st	Loftus Public School	NSW	Bumps, Blades and Breezes	Cyrus, Hunter and Frankie
2nd	Sunrise Christian School Fullarton	SA	Algae Bloom - Can we stop algae growing by changing the amount of light it is exposed to?	Hudson and Howard
3rd	Essex Heights Primary School	VIC	Which rising agent creates the most height in a baked cake?	Evie and Eden
Highly Commended	Sunrise Christian School Fullarton	SA	Singing Glasses - How does the amount of water in a glass affect the pitch of the sound it produces when tapped?	Idelette and Anna
Highly Commended	Essex Heights Primary School	VIC	Green Bean Growing Experiment	Aubrey and Penelope

1st place

Bumps, Blades and Breezes

Loftus Public School, NSW.
Cyrus, Hunter and Frankie

What the judges liked about it:

This unique investigation combined strong scientific thinking, clear communication, and thoughtful analysis to deliver an engaging exploration of a real-world research question.

2nd place

Algae Bloom - Can we stop algae growing by changing the amount of light it is exposed to?

Sunrise Christian School Fullarton, SA.
Hudson and Howard

What the judges liked about it:

This engaging investigation tackled a local environmental issue through a simple but effective experiment, combining strong scientific inquiry skills with an enthusiastic presentation using excellent visuals and delivery.

3rd place

Which rising agent creates the most height in a baked cake?

Essex Heights Primary School, VIC
Evie and Eden

What the judges liked about it:

A carefully planned and conducted investigation with a creative and engaging video presentation. It must have been a delicious clean-up!

Years 5-6 winning entries

Place	School	State	Investigation title	Team members
1st	Iqra College	SA	Cool The School: A Surface Material and Heat Investigation	Ayaan, Eusoph and Imran
2nd	Oxford Falls Grammar School	NSW	Think Science 2026 Experiment: The Impact of Salt Water on Plant Growth.	Archibald and Raphael
3rd	Sunrise Christian School Fullarton	SA	Coin Battery - How does the number of cells connected in series affect the voltage produced by a battery?	Joseph, Joel and Julliene
Highly Commended	Islamic College of Brisbane	QLD	Do microplastics affect the germination of seeds?	Aasiya, Hooria, Sarah and Zoha
Highly Commended	Bonnet Bay Public School	NSW	Sweet, Sweet Crystallisation	Harvey, Ben, Orion and Isaac

1st place

Cool The School: A Surface Material and Heat Investigation

Iqra College, SA
Ayaan, Eusoph and Imran

What the judges liked about it:

This outstanding, well-planned investigation explored a real-life playground issue, used a range of data and expert advice to understand the results, and presented practical solutions in a clear, creative, and engaging way.

2nd place

Think Science 2026 Experiment: The Impact of Salt Water on Plant Growth.

Oxford Falls Grammar School, NSW
Archibald and Raphael

What the judges liked about it:

This thoughtful investigation explored how salt affects seed germination, combining creative presentation ideas, careful data collection, and strong scientific reasoning to explain the results and what they mean for plant growth.

3rd place

Coin Battery - How does the number of cells connected in series affect the voltage produced by a battery?

Sunrise Christian School Fullarton, SA
Joseph, Joel and Julliene

What the judges liked about it:

This fascinating investigation explored how coin batteries work, using careful testing and clear data analysis to discover how simple materials can create electricity and potentially power everyday devices.

Years 7-8 winning entries

Place	School	State	Investigation title	Team members
1st	Narooma High School	NSW	Wood Density vs Flash Point	Marcus, Christian and Kanake Acharige (Sadew)
2nd	Grace Lutheran College	QLD	Does conflicting information affect time of human cognitive processing ability?	Tanner, Jared, Lincoln and Jack
3rd	Narooma High School	NSW	Bottle Rocket Height and Volume of Water	Jake, Riley, Leroy and Sidney
Highly Commended	Christway College Kingston	VIC	Solar Updraft Tower	Georgia, Lottie, Joey and Aaron

1st place

Wood Density vs Flash Point

Narooma High School, NSW
Marcus, Christian and Kanake Acharige (Sadew)

What the judges liked about it:

A thoroughly planned, well controlled scientific investigation that is clearly communicated in an engaging presentation. Their results are excellently displayed through both tables and graphs.

2nd place

Does conflicting information affect time of human cognitive processing ability?

Grace Lutheran College, QLD
Tanner, Jared, Lincoln and Jack

What the judges liked about it:

The investigation was carefully planned, with a thorough description of the science concept involved, a detailed risk assessment, and well displayed results.

3rd place

Bottle Rocket Height and Volume of Water

Narooma High School, NSW
Jake, Riley, Leroy and Sidney

What the judges liked about it:

A carefully planned and thorough investigation is clearly and precisely presented. We enjoyed seeing a video of the experiment in progress, and excellent tables and graphs of their results.

Years 9-10 Winning Entries

Place	School	State	Investigation title	Team members
1st	St. Andrew's Cathedral School	NSW	Making Invisible Environmental Damage Visible	Lily and Eleanor
2nd	Knox Grammar School	NSW	The Effect of Music Tempo on Visuospatial Working Memory	Ryan, Ethan and Vincent
3rd	John Monash Science School	VIC	The Photoelectric Effect	Seara, Jason and Ethan
Highly Commended	Sathya Sai Secondary College	NSW	How does multitasking affect memory encoding	Xavier, Joshua and Adam

1st place

Making Invisible Environmental Damage Visible

St. Andrew's Cathedral School, NSW
Lily and Eleanor

What the judges liked about it:

A very entertaining and thoughtful scientific investigation, which is well sequenced and comprehensively communicates all required parts. The data presentation and analysis are strong and the evaluation is outstanding. We were engaged from the start to the finish.

2nd place

The Effect of Music Tempo on Visuospatial Working Memory

Knox Grammar School
Ryan, Ethan and Vincent

What the judges liked about it:

An engaging, carefully planned and comprehensive scientific investigation that is well-documented and demonstrates effective teamwork. The excellent results table shows an extensive dataset of 23 participants, and a thorough evaluation is provided.

3rd place

The Photoelectric Effect

John Monash Science School, VIC
Seara, Jason and Ethan

What the judges liked about it:

A very thorough, well-planned and beautifully presented scientific investigation that shows strong scientific understanding throughout and demonstrates excellent data analysis and evaluation. We also enjoyed the explanation of real-world applications linked to the investigation.

Rural area Prizes

To support learning in rural areas we have awarded rural prizes again for Think Science! 2026

Years 5-6 category

School	State	Investigation title	Team members
St. Raphael's Catholic School, Cowra	NSW	What makes Apples go brown?	Grace, Ruby and Viv

Years 9-10 category

School	State	Investigation title	Team members
Sathya Sai Secondary College	NSW	How does multitasking affect memory encoding?	Xavier, Joshua and Adam

Think Science! 2026 Participating Schools

Thank you to all the schools that participated in the Think Science! Competition in 2026!

2026 Think Science! Participating Schools

List of participating schools

School	Suburb or Town	State/Territory
Harrison School	Harrison	ACT
Abbotsford Public School	Abbotsford	NSW
Alexandria Park Community School	Alexandria	NSW
Bangor Public School	Bangor	NSW
Blacktown Girls High School	Blacktown	NSW
Bonnet Bay Public School	Bonnet Bay	NSW
Catherine McAuley Westmead	Westmead	NSW
Clancy Catholic College	West Hoxton	NSW
Gymea Bay Public School	Gymea Bay	NSW
Hurstville Public School	Hurstville	NSW
Illawarra Christian School	Cordeaux Heights	NSW
Kirrawee High School	Kirrawee	NSW
Knox Grammar School	Wahroonga	NSW
Loftus Public School	Loftus	NSW
Macarthur Anglican School	Cobbitty	NSW
Meriden School	Strathfield	NSW
Narooma High School	Narooma	NSW
Oxford Falls Grammar School	Oxford Falls	NSW
Sathya Sai Secondary College	Dungay	NSW
Sawtell Public School	Sawtell	NSW
Seven Hills West Public School	Seven Hills	NSW
Shire Christian School	Barden Ridge	NSW
South Coogee Public School	South Coogee	NSW
St Andrew's Cathedral School	Sydney	NSW
St John Paul II Catholic College	Schofields	NSW
St.Raphael's Catholic School	Cowra	NSW
The Illawarra Grammar School	West Wollongong	NSW
Truscott Street Public School	North Ryde	NSW
West Pennant Hills Public School	West Pennant Hills	NSW
Xavier Catholic College	Albury	NSW
Burpengary State Secondary School	Burpengary	QLD
Cooloola Christian College	Southside	QLD
Grace Lutheran College - Rothwell Campus	Rothwell	QLD
Islamic College of Brisbane	Karawatha	QLD
Trinity Anglican School	Cairns	QLD
Iqra College	O'Halloran Hill	SA
Sunrise Christian School Fullarton	Fullarton	SA
Wilderness School	Medindie	SA
Scotch Oakburn College	Launceston	TAS
Albert Park College	Albert Park	VIC
Bayside Christian College	Langwarrin South	VIC
Christian College Geelong - Junior School Belmont	Belmont	VIC
Christway College Kingston	Clarinda	VIC
Clifton Hill Primary School	Clifton Hill	VIC
Eltham North Primary School	Eltham North	VIC
Essex Heights Primary School	Mount Waverley	VIC
John Monash Science School	Clayton	VIC
King's College	Warrnambool	VIC
Manor Lakes P12 College	Wyndham Vale	VIC
Mentone Girls' Grammar	Mentone	VIC
Yarra Valley Grammar	Ringwood	VIC
Carey Baptist College, Harrisdale Campus	Harrisdale	WA
MOUNT LOCKYER PRIMARY SCHOOL	ALBANY	WA
Mundaring Primary School	Mundaring	WA
West Leeming Primary School	Leeming	WA