Students, Let’s Get Science Fair Ready
We are excited about the upcoming CASEF year.
A science or engineering fair project is an opportunity for you to deeply investigate a topic you are passionate about using scientific or engineering design processes. Your journey to a successful project begins here.
Please refer to the CASEF Reference Guide for the participation requirements on the Forms & Resources Tab.
How to Get Started
Students need the support of a sponsor to complete a project. Your sponsor must register first in StemWizard. You will need to select your school and your sponsor when you register in StemWizard. StemWizard opens October 6th for registration. If you register early, you will have to reregister after October 6th.
CASEF follows the following protocol for chain of communication: Student should contact sponsor for any questions or clarifications; sponsor will contact CASEF (as needed). Students participants should not directly contact CASEF for project questions. Please respect this chain of communication. It is important that your sponsor is included in all steps along the way.
You must correctly complete all StemWizard Milestones and ISEF forms by the deadlines in order to participate. When selecting the ISEF forms, you must use the forms for the current fair year. StemWizard is where all your information for your science fair project goes. Milestones in StemWizard refers to the little bubbles at the top of the page. These milestones guide you in completing the different parts of the complete project registration.
The CASEF Reference Guide is a comprehensive guide explaining the requirements you need to follow to participate in the fair. The guide is on the Forms & Resources Tab.
Pay attention to all requirements for your specific project. Some projects require Prior Approval that must be received BEFORE you can do any data collection. Some projects require special ISEF forms, some are completed BEFORE and some are completed AFTER experimentation. You can refer to the SRC Guidelines (on the Forms & Resources tab) to help determine what is required. You should review all paperwork that is needed with your sponsor.
It is very important that you, with your sponsor, review the CASEF Reference Guide and follow all guidelines. If your project requires Prior Approval, no experimentation can begin until you receive the approval. Failure to follow this rule will disqualify your project. Projects that do not follow expected protocol or miss deadlines may be disqualified.
Ideas to help come up with a topic for a project
Coming up with a topic can be difficult. A good science fair project idea is one that asks a clear scientific question that can be answered through experimentation, or identifies a problem that can be solved using engineering. Avoid product comparisons as a topic as they usually are not based on a good scientific question.
Here’s a guide to help get you started.
Judges Milestone in StemWizard
In the judges milestone you will upload the requested files. These requirements are explained in detail in the CASEF Reference Guide under the Forms & Resources tab. Pay close attention to format, spelling, grammar, and general presentation of the material. Judges will be given these files prior to fair week. This is the first impression you will make.
Fair Week
Monday - You will set up your project. It is expected that you bring a display board, project paper, journal. When you check in to set up your project, you must have a completed hard copy of these forms: Final Abstract, Certification Checklist, Participation Agreement/Media Release. These three forms are under the Forms & Resources Tab. These forms are required in order for you to be permitted to set up your project. Any projects set-up without completing check in and without a completed Certification Checklist will be disqualified.
Display requirements are explained in the CASEF Reference Guide. Please refer to the guide for what is permitted. Additionally there are details in the Certification Checklist that details what materials are not permitted. Before adding material to your board or bringing display material, please check with the reference guide and your sponsor to make sure the items are permitted.
Tuesday - Judging will take place during the scheduled time. You will stand at your board and will be interviewed by several judges at your board. Projects selected for Grand Champion Judging will receive call backs for Wednesday.
Thursday - Awards Ceremony. Projects must be removed by Thursday evening. Any projects remaining will be recycled.