About Our Fair

Dear Region 5 Districts, We are accepting: 21 projects per District/Charter School/Home School. If you are a charter school in Region 5, you will need to compete at the Charter School Region 5 Fair first, please contact April Harris at 20.aharris@nhaschools.com for more details. If you are in the home school category please email piedmontsciencefair@gmail.com to enter into that qualifying fair. Every science fair participant must submit forms used to verify that the student’s work has been planned prior to starting experimentation and supervised by someone with knowledge of safety issues and regulations. In addition to the links in the state Fair, students can use the ISEF Rules Wizard to help figure out which forms are needed for their project. If you have any questions about forms or rules, contact your NC Scientific Review Committee (NC SRC) at src@ncsciencefair.org.

Forms The Intel ISEF forms constitute written documentation of what will occur, or in some cases, has already occurred, in a research project. They are designed to provide the information that is needed to review the project to ensure compliance with the Intel ISEF rules and with laws and regulations that apply to the project. NEW! ISEF Rules are now available in Spanish. The forms must be completed in English but Spanish rules and guidelines are available on the ISEF web site. Most forms should be filled out and signed BEFORE any research takes place. Only Forms 1C, 7, and the abstract are done AFTER the research. The dates of the signatures reflect when the approval or consent is given.

Fair volunteers and judges can register from this website.

If a student does NOT have a prequalifying fair, the student must have a teacher from their school to sponsor and register them. Region 5 accepting projects by first come first serve basis in the case.

Elementary Categories Projects are not divided into categories. Elementary Projects will be judged with outstanding projects receiving an "Exemplary Project" plaque. Elementary projects can have from one to three students per projects. A maximum of eight projects from each of the eight regional fairs may be entered at the elementary level from grades 3 through 5.

Junior and Senior Categories Categories are:

• Biological Science A
• Biological Science B
• Chemistry
• Earth/Environmental Science
• Physics and Mathematics
• Technology
• Engineering.

From one to three students can work on a single project. Each Regional Fair can nominate two entries from each of the seven categories for the state level NC Science and Engineering Fair.

Category Descriptions Great care should be taken in selecting the category for competition that best matches the project. The following descriptions should be of assistance in making the most appropriate decisions. Download a complete list of topics in each category and see detailed descriptions of the ISEF categories on the ISEF web site. All Elementary students are in a single category - Elementary.

Biological Science A

• Animal Sciences
• Plant Sciences
• Microbiology

Biological Science B

• Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
• Cellular & Molecular Biology
• Biomedical and Health Sciences

Chemistry

• Biochemistry
• Chemistry

Earth & Environmental Sciences

• Earth & Environmental Sciences
• Environmental Engineering
• Energy: Chemical and Physical

Physics & Mathematics

• Physics
• Astronomy
• Mathematics

Engineering

• Computational Biology & Bioinformatics
• Engineering Mechanics
• Material Science

Technology

• Embedded Systems
• Robotics & Intelligent Machines
• Systems Software

Judging Criteria for Science Projects I. Research Question (10 pts) - clear and focused question that identifies a contribution to the field of study that is testable using scientific methods II. Design and Methodology (15 pts) -well designed plan and data collection methods, variables and controls defined, appropriate and complete III. Execution: Data Collection, Analysis and Interpretation (20 pts) - systematic data collection and analysis, reproducibility of results, appropriate application of mathematical and statistical methods, sufficient data collected to support interpretation and conclusions IV. Creativity (20 pts) - The questions asked are student initiated and original; the approach to solving the problem is creative, equipment is creatively used or had to be made/modified; interpretationof the data shows creative and original thinking by student V. Presentation (35 pts) a. Poster (10 pts) logical organization of material, clarity of graphics and legends, supporting documentation displayed b. Interview (25 pts) student provides clear, concise, thoughtful responses to questions demonstrates understanding of basic science relevant to project, demonstrates understanding interpretation and limitations of results and conclusions demonstrates independence in conducting project recognition of potential impact in science, society and/or economics, student is curious about ideas for further research, for team projects: all members contributed and understood the project Judging Criteria for Engineering Projects I. Research Problem (10 pts) clear and focused description of a practical need or problem to be solved definition of criteria for proposed solution explanation of constraints II. Design and Methodology (15 pts) exploration of alternatives to answer need or problem identification of a solution development of a prototype/model III. Execution: Construction and Testing (20 pts) prototype demonstrates intended design prototype has been tested in multiple conditions/trials prototype demonstrates engineering skill and completeness IV. Creativity (20 pts) project demonstrates significant creativity in one or more of the above criteria V. Presentation (35 pts) a. Poster (10 pts) - logical organization of material, clarity of graphics and legends. supporting documentation displayed b. Interview (25 pts) - student provides clear, concise, thoughtful responses to questions, demonstrates understanding of basic science relevant to project, demonstrates understanding interpretation and limitations of results and conclusions, demonstrates independence in conducting project, recognition of potential impact in science, society and/or economics, student is curious about ideas for further research (for team projects: all members contributed and understood the project)

Ready to Get Down to Science?

Registration opens on Jan 1 2019! Deadline to register is Feb 1, 2019! Schools pre-pay for student registration. Students are able to register themselves, please select your district coordinator as the teacher. If your school is not listed please email ccavalier@tmsacharter.org.