 Projects are brought down on Tuesday between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.  Your project must be approved by the Display and Safety Committee.  Junior Division projects undergo SRC review (if needed).  Projects must be completely set up (ready for judging) by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

 Junior Division individual projects are judged based on the display & and any notebooks or log books.  Junior Division team projects ~ have interviews with the judges  All Senior Division projects ~ have interviews with the judges

 There will be CATEGORY judges. These are science fair judges who will be determining the awards you will receive.  There will be PROFESSIONAL judges. These judges give various awards from professional societies, organizations, and companies.

Judges are all volunteers & include…  Teachers  College professors  Scientists  Engineers  College students/graduate students who are studying science  Former science fair winners  Members of professional organizations

Science projectEngineering project Research Question10 Design & Methodology15 Execution20 (data collection, analysis, interpretation 20 (construction and testing) Creativity20 Presentation - Poster10 Interview25 Total100 pts

 Is the problem clearly stated?  Does the experiment solve the problem or does it beat around the bush?  Are the results clear?  If the results are unclear, can the experiment be altered to remove all doubts?  Did you use the proper equipment for the experiment?

 Have measurements been made accurately?  Have you done control experiments?  Have you used graphs and tables to present your data?  Have you done the experiment enough times to feel confident in your results?  Have you used the results of your experiment to arrive at your conclusions?

 These judges are assigned many projects to look at.  Your display is key!!!  Judges make an initial sweep of the projects to determine which ones are the very best and deserve a more detailed examination. (~ 1/3)  The rest are given green (“excellent”) and red (“honorable mention”) ribbons.

 The top 1/3 of the projects are judged more closely and looked at in detail.  The judges decide which of these projects deserve a blue (“outstanding” ribbon) or gold (1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd place).  Multiple places are given based on the size of a category.  The chief judges determine the Grand Award winners.

 Be confident! You are the expert with regards to your project.  Plan ahead of time what minimum information you wish to get across to the judges.  Memorize your first sentence or two but don’t memorize your whole talk.  Speak slowly, clearly, and loud enough for the judges to hear you.

 Maintain eye contact with the judges. Don’t stand facing your project.  As you discuss your data or results, point to items on your display.  Anticipate questions in advance and be prepared for interruptions.  Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.” However, you should be familiar with all of the basics related to your topic.

 Don’t hesitate to ask the judges questions.  Appearance is important. Dress neatly in your “nicer” school clothes. It’s usually a good idea to not have jackets or sweaters with your school name readily visible.  When the judges are finished, stay at or near your project. Other judges may come by to talk to you.

 Tell us about your project…  How did you get the idea for your project?  Did you have a hypothesis when you began this experiment? Was there something you expected to see happen?  What was your control group?  How long did this project take you?

 Where did you carry out your work? Where did you get your equipment?  Did you do any statistical analysis of your results?  Do you have a bibliography?  If you were doing this project over, what would you change?  What would you investigate next?  Do you see any applications of the work you have done in this project?

GOOD LUCK and enjoy !!