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1.
1. Rules
Guidelines Booklet, Judging Criteria and other information may be
found at www.societyforscience.org/isef
2.
2.
EACH
Student must furnish his/her own table
which cannot be more than 36" high.
3.
Projects are
limited to 30" deep (front to back), 48" wide (side to
side), and 108" high (floor to top, including table).
Project must be positioned at
the back of the booth and parallel to the rear of the booth.
Maximum project
sizes include all project materials and supports.
The table becomes part of the project and may not itself
exceed the allowed dimensions nor may the table plus any part of the
project exceed the allowed dimensions.
Any project with a component that will be demonstrated by
the Presenter may be demonstrated only within the confines of the
Presenter’s booth. When not being demonstrated, the component plus
the project may not exceed allowed dimensions.
4.
Projects
that are demonstration, ‘library’ research on informational
projects, ‘explanation’ models or kit building are not
appropriate.
5.
Students are
encouraged to design ‘controlled’ experiments, ones that
allow them to set up a standard and then change only one variable at
a time to see how that variable might affect the original condition
tested as the standard.
6.
Not
allowed at Project or in Booth.
Certain items cannot be displayed
at the Science Fair. However,
the display can contain pictures, drawings, and diagrams to
illustrate the project. The
items prohibited from
display include:
a.
Living organisms, including plants
b.
Taxidermy specimens or parts
c.
Preserved vertebrate or invertebrate
animals
d.
Food, either human or animal (includes
crystals)
e.
Human or animal parts or body fluids
f.
Plant material (living, dead, or
preserved) that are in their raw, unprocessed, or non-manufacturing
state. (Exception:
manufactured construction materials used in building the project or
display.)
g.
All chemicals including water
(Exception: water integral to an enclosed, sealed apparatus.
h.
All hazardous substances or devices
(for example, poisons, drugs, firearms, weapons, ammunition,
reloading devices, and operation of Class III or IV lasers.)
i.
Dry ice or other sublimating solids
j.
Sharp items (for example, syringes,
pipettes, needles, knives and similar dangerous or sharp devices)
k.
Flames or flammable substances
l.
Batteries with open-top cells
m.
Awards, medals, business cards, flags,
endorsements and/or acknowledgments (graphic or written) unless the
item(s) are an integral part of the project
n.
Photographs or other visual
presentations depicting vertebrate animals in surgical techniques,
dissections, necropsies, or other lab procedures
o.
Glass items
p.
Any apparatus deemed unsafe by the
Scientific Review Committee, the Display and Safety Committee, or
Science Service (for example, large vacuum tubes or dangerous
ray-generating devices, empty tanks that previously contained
combustible liquids or gases, pressurized tanks, etc.)
7.
Allowed
at Project or in Booth BUT with the Restrictions Indicated
a. Soil, sand, rock, and/or waste samples
if permanently encased in a slab of acrylic.
b. Postal addresses World Wide Web and
e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and fax numbers of presenter
only
c. Photographs
and/or visual depictions if:
i.
They
are not deemed offensive or inappropriate by the Scientific Review
Committee, the Display and Safety Committee, or Science Service.
ii.
Credit
lines of their origins (“Photograph taken by...” or “Image
taken from…”) are attached.
(If all photographs being displayed were taken by the
presenter or are from the same source, one credit line prominently
displayed is sufficient.)
iii.
They
are from the Internet, magazines, newspapers, journals, etc., and
credit lines are attached. (If
all photographs/images are from the same source, one credit
prominently displayed is sufficient.)
iv.
They
are photographs or visual depictions of the presenter.
v.
They
are photographs of human subjects for which signed consent forms are
at the project or in the Booth.
d.
Any apparatus with
unshielded belts, pulleys, chains, or moving parts with tension or
pinch points if for display only and not operated
e. Class II lasers if the output energy
is <1 mW, operated only by the presenter, operated only during
judging, labeled with a sign reading “Laser radiation:
Do Not Look Into Beam” enclosed in protective housing that
prevents physical and visual access to beam, and must be
disconnected when not operating.
f. Class
III or IV lasers if for display only and not operated
g. Any apparatus producing temperatures
that will cause physical burns if adequately insulated.
8.
Students in Grades 1-6
may enter a project involving humans and/or living vertebrate
animals, BUT ALL src/irb
forms required by isef must be completed. The forms must
be available for judges but not displayed.
Restrictions, although not limited to, include any physical
contact with either human subjects or with any domestic animal.
Projects involving human subjects are limited exclusively
to executions of questionnaires, which must be pre-approved by the
Science Fair Committee before experimentation begins.
9.
The identical
repetition of a previous year's project is not permitted. However, a
participant may again exhibit work on a continuing problem provided
the work shows significant progress when compared to the previous
year's work. New and different research (e.g., testing a new
variable or new line of investigation, etc.)
must be documented. Repetitions of previous experimentation
or increasing sample size are examples of unacceptable
continuations.
10.
Prior
years’ written material or visual depictions may not be displayed
on the vertical display board, except that the project title
displayed in the Presenter's booth may mention years or which year
the project is (for example, "Year Two of an Ongoing
Study"). Continuation projects must have the Continuation
Project Form (7) displayed.
11.
No
electricity is available for Class 1 or Class II projects at any
Regional Fair. Those
interested in developing electrical related projects may choose to
use DC dry cell power sources. Wet
cell power sources (i.e., automotive or marine batteries) are NOT
allowed.
12.
Any copies of
disks, CD's, printed materials, etc. (including unofficial
abstracts) designed to be distributed to judges or members of the
public which are confiscated by the Display and Safety Committee
will be discarded and will not be returned to the Finalist.
13.
Project
sounds, lights, odors or any other display items must not be
distracting.
14.
No food or
drinks, except small bottled water for personal consumption.
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