General Information

One of the main purposes of the regional science fair competition is to bring together students from throughout the region whose projects/papers were selected as the best from their particular schools. Through a science fair project, students obtain a glimpse of the scientific method. They learn what it is like to think like a scientist, to investigate and experiment in an area of their interest. Since only the very best projects are selected for regional competition and since many people view these projects, proper procedures and rules are necessary. It is very important that a student is properly supervised, that his/her project is performed and exhibited safely, and that humane procedures are followed, especially when higher animals are used in a research project. Consequently, please follow the rules as listed. The "Planning a Good Science Fair Project" and "The Scientific Method" pages were modified from and are courtesy of the Flint (Michigan) Area Regional Science Fair booklet.

The general rules and regulations for the Junior/Senior High Division are listed further on. Specific rules that need to be adhered to are available at the Intel ISEF website www.sciserv.org/isef. Rules and regulations for the Elementary Division are slightly different than the Junior/Senior High Division, and are also listed further on. The proper forms must be completed prior to beginning the science project to ensure student safety and proper procedure.

Participants: Any boy or girl in grades 3-12 of a public, private, parochial or home school is eligible to participate in the research project and exhibit competition. Students in grades 7-12 are also eligible to compete in the research paper competition. Students in grades 3-6 typically compete in a local school fair before earning the opportunity to be certified for regional competition. In grades 7-12 some schools have a local fair, but many simply send those students interested in doing a project and/or paper directly to the regional fair. All students/schools must register according to deadlines.

Repetition of Previous Year's Work: A project shown in the previous regional science fair may not be re-entered without substantial expansion and development.

RSEF Junior/Senior High Division – ONLINE REGISTRATIONS ARE HIGHLY PREFERRED! Project and Paper Registrations: Student registration forms are available to be completed online or available online in PDF format to download after the school is signed up; be sure to print or photocopy a copy (before submission) for backup. Complete the correct registration form and return it to your advisor/teacher to send to the Regional Science Fair Office. When registrations are completed online, educators should send a copy of the registration or include a list of the registrants along with payment. A copy should be kept as well by the educator along with the original form kept by the student. For online registration, remember to PRINT AND KEEP a copy for your files! SC/SW MN Regional Science & Engineering Fair Date: Saturday, February 6, 2010.

Registrations either completed online or by hard copy are due by the deadline of Friday, December 18, 2009. Payments for registration are due Wednesday, January 6, 2009. To participate in both the project and paper competitions, two forms will need to be completed along with fees for both competitions. Registration fees for either the paper or project competition is $15 per student per entry. If a student chooses to register for both the paper and project competition, there will be a $15 registration fee for each competition or $30 total. If there are additional team members, each member needs to also pay the $15 fee for each competition. No late research paper registrations will be accepted after Friday, December 18, 2009. Remember to send three copies of the research paper to our office, postmarked no later than December 31, 2009. For those wishing to submit the Research Paper via electronically (to mary.van-duynhoven@mnsu.edu) we need a PDF file of the document emailed to our office no later than 8:00am on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. LATE RESEARCH PAPER REGISTRATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Late project registrations will be charged an additional $5 per person AND will need to accompany the hard copy of the registration. Late registrations may or may not be listed in the fair booklet. Any project registration with payment not made by Wednesday, January 6, 2010 may also be accessed a $5 late fee. No project registrations will be accepted after Friday, January 1, 2010. NO REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN AFTER JANUARY 6, 2010!