Regional Competition
2024 Western Region Science Fair Schedule
February 2
Participant Registration Deadline
Project Registration Deadline
SRC Paperwork Deadline
February 16
Virtual Project Video Submission Deadline
February 24
74th Annual Western Region Science Fair
Participant Interviews and Project Judging
Award Ceremony
Projects must follow the rules and display guidelines as set forth for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. Specific questions will be answered by email at displayandsafety@societyforscience.org.
The Minnesota Academy of Science website is also a source of both paper and project guidelines
All projects (except grades 4 & 5) must fill out ISEF forms appropriate for their project. The ISEF Rules Wizard will help you figure out which forms you need for your project and provide links to the necessary forms. Below are useful links for determining project category and getting project forms.
Narrated Slideshow Project Presentation Video:
These videos will consist of a narrated slideshow where the project presentation elements will be on slides accompanied by the project author(s) voice narration to describe/discuss the information on each slide.
Use the NEW QUAD CHART design as a guide. Each "quad" should be a slide. This will make for an easier transition when your project moves to the state level.
For this type of presentation we recommend using Microsoft PowerPoint, but you can use any slideshow/screencast/video editing tool (SmartSHOW 3D, Narakeet, Visme, etc) you are most comfortable with. Your narrated slideshow presentation can include video of yourself as you narrate or can be a voice only narration.
Although this is a slideshow presentation, you must submit it as a video. Do not submit a .pptx file.
Time Limit:
Video length cannot exceed 10 minutes.
You will not be penalized if your video is shorter than 10 minutes.
Your score will be negatively affected by exceeding 10 min
Create Video Link to submit:
Host the video file on a site such as YouTube or Google Drive and provide a link to the video.
Quality Check:
Please view your presentation before submitting to check both picture and sound quality.
Team Members Must Present:
If this is a team project all team members must be represented in your presentation video and must present for a portion of the project presentation video. Team project presentation videos must not exceed the 10 minute maximum allotted to all project presentations.
Presenting your Project
All of your hard work and your well done experiment will not be noticed if your project does not grab the attention of the judges and the public. Your project will be examined; your efforts are appreciated and may be rewarded if your project is:
Organized - Arrange the presentation of your project so that the judges can easily examine and understand your experiment and your results. With one quick glance, a viewer should be able to easily find the four necessary parts of your display: the title, how you did your experiment, your data, and your conclusions. Remember, even though you are familiar with your topic and your work, when the judges see it, they will have no idea what your project is about.
The Title is the Beginning - Your title is what the judges might see first. But it should be so much more than just a beginning. A good title grabs the attention of the casual observer. It is short, yet it correctly and completely describes your entire project. A good title begs the people looking at your project to dig deeper. Do not disappoint them. Make sure that your title tells us what your project is about.
Eye Catching and Attention Holding - Home built equipment, neat and colorful headings, graphs and tables all draw attention to your project. The careful use of contrasting colors will help. For filling in charts and bar graphs, construction paper cut-outs look much better than coloring white paper. For line graphs, use different colored marker pens instead of pencils or if using electronic files, utilize color to enhance charts, graphs, etc. One area often needing extra attention is the labeling of graphs, charts, diagrams and tables. Each item must have its own very descriptive title. All columns, axes and data must be clearly labeled and identified. A person should be able to understand each graph without having to read your paper. Also, bar graphs, line graphs and pie charts all have different purposes. Check with your math teacher to make sure you have the right graph to display your type of data.
Correctly Presented and Well Constructed - When your display is constructed, observe the size limitations (36" wide for Elementary School Division and 48" wide for the Middle School/Senior High School Division), safety considerations and other rules for presentation of your project. See the rules and regulations as listed in the Rules and Regulations link. Be sure to fill out the certification forms if you are experimenting with vertebrate animals, humans, recombinant DNA, tissue research and/or pathogenic agents or controlled substances prior to the onset of experimentation. Build a sturdy display that will not fall apart before you even have it placed up. You will not want to construct your display using only poster board and tape. It will not stand up straight more than a few hours. It is okay for adults to help you construct your display.