An important aspect to your application is your project abstract. The purpose of an abstract is to describe the entire project in one or two short paragraphs. Abstracts are required for all projects and the ability to condense information is a lifelong skill which can be applied to many situations. A very handy guide to writing abstracts can be found here Writing an Abstract.
Project Screening
Age Category Allocation of Projects
No more than 145 projects from elementary schools will be accepted for participation in the fair. Of these, no more than 50 projects will be from the Juvenile Category (grades 5 and 6) and no more than 95 projects will be from the Junior Category (grades 7 and 8). This restriction is made necessary by the limited space available for holding the fair and for the management difficulties created by larger numbers of projects.
As the procedures outlined below, an effort is made to ensure that each school (which follows all the NRSEF rules, regulations, and ethics policies) will be represented in the Fair.
The Screening of Applications
The Niagara Regional Science and Engineering Fair Committee is determined to ensure that the competition will include the best science and engineering projects available. Accordingly, all online applications to the Fair will be read through carefully in order to ensure that the rules, regulations, and ethics policies have been followed. Further screening will be conducted in order to meet the limitations of space and management
Elementary School Project Application Screening
Step One – Disqualification Due To Non-Compliance with NRSEF Rules and Regulations
During the first round of screening, project applications will be disqualified which:
- Do not include proper certification for projects involving human subjects or animal studies
- Represent projects which demonstrate a dangerous use of materials or procedures
- Are so lacking in detail that it is impossible to determine if Rules and Regulations have been broken
Step Two – Each Participating School is Allotted Exhibit Spaces
For each elementary school represented by applications, TWO display spaces will be reserved in both the Juvenile and Junior categories. The school officials (principal, vice principal, or science teacher) are responsible for identifying their preferred projects by ranking projects accordingly on the School Top Project form. Beyond these top projects, each school may send a maximum of EIGHT applications which will be screened during step three below.
All project applications must be accompanied by a School Top Project form for all projects completed by school officials (principal, science teacher, etc.).
No spaces will be reserved for any school which has had all of its applications disqualified during step one of the screening process.
Step Three – Allocation of Remaining Spaces
In order to allocate Juvenile and Junior applications to exhibit spaces, the following procedure will be followed:
- Projects will be accepted which appear next on the School Top Project form. One project from each participating school list will be accepted in each age category (if one exists on such list).
- If spaces in either age category remain, the next project on the participating schools Top Project form will be accepted.
This will continue until all spaces are filled.
Step Four – Registration Night Screening
On the night of registration at the NRSEF, members of the Rules, Regulations, and Ethics Committee will give final approval to projects being set up for competition. Project displays which exceed dimension restrictions will be subject to disqualification from competition. Displays which contravene the statutes regarding safety regulations will be subject to disqualification. Projects featuring infraction of the rules, not identified by the screening of applications will be subject to disqualification. In each of these cases, a warning will be issued so that immediate steps may be taken to revise the display in accordance with NRSEF rules, regulations, and ethics policies.
Secondary School Project Application Screening
Step One – Same as above
Step Two – Omit
Step Three – Omit
Step Four – Same as above
APPLICATIONS AND SCREENING
Two clear reasons motivate the use of these procedures. They are:
- The NRSEF Committee intends to continue its promotion of excellence in science education.
- The NRSEF Committee intends to make the science fair accessible to all interested school groups.
How To Maximize Project Application Acceptance
For each school to maximize the number of applications which will be accepted, school officials should follow these steps:
- Ensure that all students follow the NRSEF rules and regulations when conducting their science fair projects.
- Ensure that students undertake projects that go beyond the simplicity of level one or level two type work.
- Carefully screen projects at the school level via a school science fair or some other form of assessment.
- Carefully supervise the completion of the online application forms by the student. (NOTE that online applications will be screened carefully by the Rules, Regulations, and Ethics Committee. Acceptance into the Fair will be determined during this application screening process).
- Select at least the top two projects from the home school, and forward the designated “School Top Projects” form.
- Ensure that all students are aware of the allocation and screening procedures.
APPLICATIONS (Signature Forms, School Top Project Form, Registration Fee and Applicable Human/Animal Forms) ARE TO BE DELIVERED TO THE NRSEF COMMITTEE NO LATER THAN THE SECOND THURSDAY IN FEBRUARY OF THE GIVEN SCHOOL YEAR.
Please send the Registration Chair an email for further instructions at nrsef.reg@gmail.com