Please use this page as a guide to answer many of your questions.
What is IJAS?
- As stated on the Home Page, Illinois Junior Academy is a Non-Profit organization that exists solely for the students. The State Science Fair is a large endeavor that is completely supported by volunteers.
How does one join?
- Individual schools pay a registration fee with their registration form that can be obtained from this site. Click here for file.
How does a student get to State competition?
- An individual school sends their students to their Region’s Science Fair. Student with the highest score qualify for State Competition. Due to the amount of space at Urbana Campus, each Region can send a limited amount of students down to state.
If a student isn’t picked for state, is that it?
- Yes and no. There is an alternate list of students after the initial cut off when students who qualify but can’t go for various reasons.
What if the date of the fair coincides with another event?
- Due to the size of this event, it is extremely difficult to not overlap some event somewhere. The dates of the fair are selected in advance and scheduled with the University of IL.
- Students are explained this fact by their sponsors before the competition and are expected to be present.
- If there are religious conflicts, the sponsor should be notified. He/she should explain that to the Regional Chair so accommodations may be made.
- Yes, there are things that pop up last minute. Before the fair, please talk to the Sponsor and ask if he/she can explain to the Region Chair why he/she needs to leave early. The State chair can then explain to the Judges which student they should early so they can go to their other event.
- Please remember that there are over 1000 projects being judged, thus the number of exceptions will be very minimal.
My son's high school does not participate in science fair. They do Science Olympiad and do not have enough staff to run both. How can he compete in science fair?
As stated above, each school will need to find at least one Sponsor, who doesn’t not necessarily have to be the Science teacher, but someone willing to go to the mandatory meetings.
Where do I set up my project?
- The Assembly Hall is divided into category areas. Check the maps at the west entrance to find your category area. Check the tables in that area for your number. All tables are marked with project numbers.
What is my project number?
- Look on the back of your ribbon. The project number is printed on the label.
What if I have lost my WHITE ribbon?
- Inquire at the Information Desk if it was found. The volunteers at the Information Desk will also be able to provide you with your project number if you don't have your ribbon. IJAS may be able to provide a new ribbon for you.
What time does judging start?
- Be at Assembly Hall by 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Judging begins at 9:00 A.M. If you are a judge, then you need to be sitting in your category group by 8 a.m.
What time is judging over?
- Judging ends around noon. Special judging can last a little longer. At noontime, a general announcement will be made dismissing all who have been judged. Those few presenters still needing to be judged will remain until their judging is done.
Is it okay to leave my paper with my project?
- Leave nothing with your project when you are away from it. IJAS is not responsible for any missing goods.
When and where will the Awards Assembly take place?
- Awards will be presented at an Awards Assembly at 3:15 pm. Sit behind the banner marked with your REGION #. Students who have received special awards will be called down to the floor of the Assembly Hall. All students will receive their certificates and IJAS mementos from their sponsors after the fair.
When can I remove my project?
- Take down your project AFTER the Awards Assembly is over and you have received your award packet from your sponsor. No one should remove a project until after the Awards Assembly has concluded.
What should my parents do while I am being judged?
- Parents are asked to leave Assembly Hall during the judging. They may have breakfast, tour the campus, shop, check out of their motel, etc. They may return at noon to view projects. Students may leave after the noon dismissal and return for the 3:15 P.M. Awards Assembly
My name is spelled incorrectly on the certificate. What do I do?
- Take your certificate to the Awards Room with the correction carefully printed on the certificate. It will be corrected for you.
What if I need electricity for my project?
- Please explain that to your Sponsor as soon as possible. Don’t wait until the day of fair. Once the floor layout is done for the fair, projects can’t be moved around easily.
How many papers do I need to bring down for Project or Paper Session?
- Project session requires at least 3 copies of your paper for judges to read after student presentation.
- Paper
doesn’t really require any because the student paper was sent early to
judges for review, but it is recommended to have at least one on hand
just in case they need it. Note: No Modifications of the paper can be given to judges during paper session. Please ask Sponsor and read guidelines.
Do I need to bring a table down to the State Fair?
- No, tables are provided at the State Level. Only the Regional Science Fair do you need them.