Advisor Checklist

Junior/Senior High Division

1. As soon as possible, discuss the idea of planning a project and the timeline with your students. At the Junior/Senior High level, they will want to begin deciding a project and completing the library search in the fall. This will give them at least October – December for the experiment and conclusions.
2. Continue to give each one instruction on the scientific method, planning a project or research paper and the timeline for participation.
   
   Help interested students or inform them on how to seek assistance.
   
   Talk to each student that is planning a project to be sure it is safe for themselves or other living things. A copy of the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) Rules are available at http://www.societyforscience.org/isef . If hard copies are needed, please give us a call at (507) 389–2849 or email your request to science.fair@mnsu.edu.
   
   If you have a student planning to experiment with vertebrate animals, humans, or pathogenic agents, they will need to complete the Intel ISEF Certification Forms available at http://www.societyforscience.org/isef or refer to the regional. Each student/team is expected to complete the Research Plan (1A), The Research Plan Attachment and the Approval Form (1B), the Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1) and an abstract. Any students experimenting with vertebrate animals, humans or pathogenic agents will also need to complete appropriate paperwork. If your school does not have a local scientific review committee, this paperwork must be submitted to the Regional Science Fair Office prior to the start of the project. Completed certifications forms should be sent along with the project and research paper registrations.
3. Research Paper Registrations: Give the web address of the SC/SW MN Regional Science & Engineering (SC/SW MN RSEF) web site to your students (Science Fair Web Site) . The regional office prefers that all registrations be completed online. It is convenient to have the student access any needed information that they need. Students that are attending the SC/SW MN RSEF can register one of the following ways: online registration, a PDF form that would be downloaded, completed and mailed, or by hard copy which will be sent to the coordinator by request. We suggest that the advisor/teacher supervise the registration process. If completing the process online, please be sure to print out a copy for your purposes before submitting. When submitting a hard copy of the form, be sure to make and keep a copy for your records. Remind the students who are registering by a hard copy, to return his/her registration forms to you along with three copies of their paper and any certification forms required, and send the school’s registrations to the Regional Science Fair Office by Friday, January 9, 2009. Payment is expected by Friday, January 16, 2009. A $5 late fee will be added to all late registrations or late payments. (Refer the section dedicated to the registration fees. Online registration will not be available after January 9, 2009.) There is a $15.00 registration fee per person. If the research paper was done by a team, each member needs to pay the $15 registration fee. Each research paper will be read by two MSU professors. The students with top papers will be invited to present their papers at the SC/SW MN RSEF, held at MSU on Saturday, February 21, 2009. The regional office will inform the coordinator/advisor of the finalists and the schedule of the finalists’ oral presentations. Finalists’ advisor/teacher will receive back the students’ research paper and the judges’ evaluations in case the students wish to work with any feedback given by the judges. A projector is provided for each presentation room. There are no guarantees that your presentation will be compatible to what MSU has. If possible, please check out prior to the beginning of the day. Students will be excused from their project at the time that they are involved in the presentation of their research paper.
4. Project Registrations: Give the web address of the SC/SW MN Regional Science & Engineering (SC/SW MN RSEF) web site to your students (Science Fair Web Site) . The regional office prefers that all registrations be completed online. There are three different registration forms available for Junior/Senior High students who wish to attend the SC/SW MN RSEF. There is an individual project, one form for team projects and a form for research papers. Registration can be done by one of the following ways: online registration, a PDF form that would be downloaded, completed and mailed, or by hard copy which will be sent to the coordinator by request. We suggest that the advisor/teacher supervise the registration process. If completing the process online, please be sure to print out a copy for your purposes before submitting online. When submitting a hard copy of the form, be sure to make and keep a copy for your records. Remind the students who are registering by a hard copy, to return his/her registration forms to you along with any certification forms required, and send the school’s registrations to the Regional Science Fair Office by Friday, January 9, 2009. Payment is expected by Friday, January 16, 2009. A single school check is preferred and greatly appreciated. Never staple, but use paperclips to attach checks or cash to copy of registration. A $5 late fee will be added to all late registrations or late payments. (Refer the section dedicated to the registration fees. Online registration will not be available after January 9, 2009 after midnight.) There is a $15.00 registration fee per person. Each team member will also pay $15.00 per project. Any missing certification forms will be communicated with the coordinator. One person from each school should be designated to pick up the registration packet and pre-ordered t-shirts on fair day at the specified registration table. We will provide a master list of the t-shirt orders and sizes specific to school.
5. Approximately, five to ten days before the SC/SW MN Regional Science & Engineering Fair the coordinator/teacher/sponsor will receive a packet that will include a list of all registered students from your school(s) along with their assigned research paper or project number. Each student/team of students will have a report on their paper work (protocol). If the student’s name is incorrect at any level of the communications, please let us know. We can only fix the information in the fair booklet up to 4.5 weeks prior to the fair date or by January 21, 2009. If any information is incorrect, please inform us immediately. Encourage students to double check all forms for correctness before submitting. School coordinators may also receive their school's list of participants. Please be sure to check overall info, especially spelling of names, grade level, project category and project title.
6. SC/SW Junior/Senior High Regional Science Fair Date – Saturday, February 21, 2009.