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Detailed Rules

Click here to download a powerpoint presentation of the rules.

Who May Enter

Students in grades 6 – 12 may enter if attending a school in the Eastern Section of STANYS. This includes all schools, public and private, and any home-schooled students in the counties of Albany, Columbia, Greene, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington .

In special situations, the Fair may accept students from other areas. If there is no regional fair in your area, please contact the director Joan Wagner (jsw0212@aol.com) to see if you can participate. Out of county students will pay a higher registration fee.

Teacher and Adult Sponsors

Every student must have a teacher sponsor in the school where he/she is enrolled. Parents, guardians, friends, or any other adult mentor cannot sponsor the student to this fair.

However, any qualified adult may act as a research mentor for the student. This adult sponsor is the person who is directly involved with the student and his/her research and may be a parent. The adult sponsor is the person who is directly involved with the student and his/her research and may be a parent. The adult sponsor is responsible for the safety of the student at all times.

Exceptions will be made for home-schooled students.

Chaperones

All students in the junior division must have a chaperone. A chaperone can supervise up to ten students. No chaperone can supervise more than ten students. Groups larger than ten must have more than one chaperone. The chaperone(s) must be present during setup and from lunch to closing.

Prior Approval

The following projects require SRC/IRB approval before research begins.

• human subjects (including surveys)
• • these require just IRB approval
• • but we recommend that schools combine the SRC and IRB into one committee called the SRC/IRB Committee
• vertebrate animals
• potentially hazardous biological agents
• • rDNA technologies,
• • human or animal fresh tissues
• • blood
• • body fluids
• controlled substances, devices, equipment
• • chemicals (i.e. hazardous, flammable, explosive or highly toxic, carcinogens, mutagens, and all pesticides)
• • equipment (i.e. welders, lasers, and voltage greater than 220 volts)
• • firearms
• • radioactive substances
• • radiation (i.e. X-ray or nuclear, unshielded ionizing radiation of 100-400 nm wavelength)

To provide for prior approval, each school district is responsible for forming a local review panel.

Registration Forms

Please use the rules wizard at www.sciserv.org/isef/students/wizard/index.asp to ensure you have all the required forms.

All forms are now online at http://www.science.ri.edu/Science Fair, You can order a Rules brochure at www.sciserv.org.

Students Must Do All the Work

Sponsors may help in planning and advising, but parents, teachers, or friends may not actually design, conduct or build the project. Abuses of this rule will result in disqualification. All students are expected to be able to answer questions regarding the design and development of every phase of their projects.  

• A student may not display a group project from a previous competition as an individual project.
• A research project that is a new phase of a previously entered project must include a copy of the research paper and data from the previous project as well as Forms 1A and 1B. See rules 12-13, page 9 in the ISEF Rules and Guidelines Booklet for more details on continuation of projects as well as team projects or go to the website.   
• Borrowed or purchased displays or collections are not permitted. All collections must bear a label describing how, where, and when they where assembled and must be protected by safety glass or screen.

Installation

Exhibits must be set up in final working order by the exhibitor at the assigned space at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on March 21st between 7:45 and 8:30 a.m. Participants will receive more specific directions two weeks before the fair.

Exhibits Restrictions

Aquariums, live plants, or live animals are not acceptable.

Posters displaying research results must be anchored on a self-contained, free-standing storyboard (supplied by the student) that can be placed at your assigned station.

Telescopes mounted on tripods must be securely anchored to a wooded or plywood base not larger than 48 in (121.9 cm) by 30 in (76.2 cm) and must not protrude beyond the mounting base.

The exhibit cannot contain your personal accomplishments, acknowledgements, addresses, phone or fax numbers, or personal photographs.

Special forms requiring approval from the SRC/IRB (Science Review Committee/Institutional Review Committee) must be available in a binder or folder at the exhibit.

No photographs or other visual presentations depictung vertebrate animals in surrgical techniques, dissections, necropsies, or other lab procedures can be displayed.

Photographs

Photographs pertaining to the project are encouraged!

Safety

Any visitor must easily and safely operate animated or push buttons exhibits. Use shields (wire, plastic, or safety glass) around any hot substances. Any exhibit using harmful, poisonous, or explosive materials, or electrical apparatus under potentially dangerous conditions will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Size

No exhibit may exceed 48 in (121.9 cm) from side to side, 30 in (76.2 cm) from back to front, and 108 in (274 cm) in height. All exhibits will be placed on laboratory tables provided in the exhibit room.

Electric Power

Alternating current (120V or 220V, 60 Hz) will be provided. As battery-powered exhibits are sometimes unsatisfactory, direct current may be supplied from an approved AC or DC converter. Exhibits using electricity must have spring-return switches, operating only when the button is held down. Wiring must conform to the highest standards. Soldered and taped electrical joints properly guard against short circuits. Take no chances for fire or injury. Have your adult sponsor check all wiring! Bring your own UL listed 3-wire extension cord(s), if needed. 

The Research Paper and Abstract

This paper should be typed or word-processed on 8.5 by 11.0 in. paper. The recommended length for the senior division is 5 to 10 pages, and 3 to 5 pages for the junior division. Graphs, pictures, and diagrams do not count as written pages.

You must have four copies of your paper!

The cover page should contain the title of your project as well as your name and assigned project number. The abstract should follow the cover page and should be no more than 250 words and written on the Official Abstract Form. See the Student Handbook Insert in the Intel ISEF Rules and Guidelines Booklet for more details about the research paper and the abstract.

Three copies of your research paper will be collected at the registration table. One copy should remain at your exhibit area.

Bring five copies of your abstract. Place one by your exhibit and submit the other four to the registration desk the day of the Fair. The abstract should be placed on a vertical stand such as a picture frame.

Oral Presentation

You will be required to present a short summary (no longer than 5 min.) of your research goals, procedure, and conclusions to the judges, which will be followed by questions from the judges.

Judging

Judges will walk through the exhibit areas starting at 8:30 a.m. without the students present. The main part of the judging process will begin at 9:30 a.m.. All participants must stay at their stations during this time so that they can fulfill the oral part of the presentation. After lunch, the participants will return to their exhibits for additional interviews with the judges.

The decisions of the judges are final and nonreviewable.

Standards

The planning committee of the Greater Capital Region Science and Engineering Fair and Science Congress reserves the right to disqualify any exhibit on the day of the fair for work that is unsuitable in subject matter or treatment, that is potentially dangerous, or that violates any rules of the fair. Also, exhibits that lack any of the necessary paper work or required signatures will be disqualified.

Responsibility

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, though taking reasonable precautions in protecting exhibits, will not be responsible for broken or missing exhibits or parts. Protect any valuable items with some type of shield. Loose items and any collections must be secured to the exhibit and protected under some type of shield. Students are required to keep their exhibits in proper working order at all times.

Removal of Exhibits

No project may not be removed until after the awards ceremony.

Helpful Hints

Have your teacher sponsor provide you with a copy of the Student Handbook portion of the Intel ISEF Rules and Guideline Booklet.

Display and Safety Regulations

Make sure to read the Intel ISEF Display and Safety Regulations.

Registration Fee

$15.00 for students living in the counties of Albany, Columbia, Greene, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington. $20.00 for students outside of these counties.

Note to Teachers

If you would like to be involved with the Science Fair Planning Committee, please contact Joan Wagner or call (518) 505-7507.