Regional Fair information

Date/Time

Thursday, February 8 2023

Doors open at 8:00 AM

Location

Mason County Schools Central Office

1 Education Lane

Point Pleasant, WV 25550

Agenda

All times approximate

8:00 to 8:45 AM - Check-In and Project Setup (Event Center)

09:00 AM - Opening Remarks (Board Room)

09:15 AM - Project Presentations and Judging (Event Center)

11:45 PM - Judging Ends 

12:00 PM - Lunch (Board Room)

12:30 PM - Awards (Board Room)

1:00 PM- Clean up and Removal of Projects

Eligibility

Students in grades 4 though 12 who attend school Region 2 counties and who earned 1st place awards  with at least a score of  90 in their respective County science fairs.

Rules in Brief

The Southwest Regional Science Fair adheres to the rules of the West Virginia Science and Engineering Fair

The purpose of these rules is to:

• protect the rights and welfare of the student researcher and all human participants

• protect the health and welfare of animals

• ensure adherence to local, state, and federal regulations

• ensure use of safe laboratory practices

• protect the environment

• determine eligibility for competition in Society-affiliated fairs

• to ensure the safety and well-being of fair visitors

Projects will be inspected for potential Display and Safety (D&S) violations prior to judging. Without further notice to the participant, the D&S Inspector may remove or obscure any prohibited items on display and make safe any potentially hazardous condition.  Where necessary, the D&S Inspector will make a reasonable attempt to work with participants to correct any serious violations.  Projects with unresolved violations after commencement of judging will not be eligible to compete in subsequent Society-affiliated fairs.

The D&S inspector most commonly encounters violations of the following rules:

• Absolutely NO liquids, not even water

• No chemicals, food, grocery items, spices, or edible items

• No plants, fruits, seeds, soil, sand, rock, or cement

• No glass (no jars, containers, light bulbs, aquariums, etc; tablets/laptops are allowed)

• No exposed sharp objects, pinch points, electrical wires, or other potential hazards 

• No insects, animals, body parts or fluids, bacteria, etc (living or once living)

• No items that may have contained or been in contact with hazardous substances

• No lasers, bright lights, flames, loud noises, odors, or other distractions

• No personal information (name, school, grade, web address, phone number, etc) 

• No active internet connections

Participants are encouraged to display photographs of their work.  Photographs are usually an excellent alternative way to display otherwise banned items.  Remember that photos should not include any human faces, animals in distress, or potentially offensive images.

This is only a summary list of common violations.  Participants are strongly encouraged to carefully review the complete Display and Safety Rules in advance of fair participation.  Questions should be directed to the student's science teacher.

Categories

The Southwest Regional Science and Engineering Fair uses the same categories as WVSEF and Regeneron ISEF.  Please note, the Fair Director reserves the right to change a project's category placement or combine categories with an insufficient number of entrants.

Elementary Categories:

• Animal Science

• Behavioral and Social Science

• Chemistry

• Earth and Environmental Science

• Energy

• Engineering

• Mathematics

• Plant Science

• Physics and Astronomy

• Technology

Middle School Categories:

• Animal Science

• Behavioral and Social Science

• Chemistry

• Earth and Environmental Science

• Energy

• Engineering

• Materials Science

• Mathematics

• Medical Science

• Plant Science

• Physics and Astronomy

• Technology

High School Categories:

• Animal Sciences (ANIM)

• Behavioral and Social Sciences (BEHA)

• Biochemistry (BCHM)

• Biomedical and Health Sciences (BMED)

• Biomedical Engineering (ENBM)

• Cellular and Molecular Biology (CELL)

• Chemistry (CHEM)

• Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (CBIO)

• Earth and Environmental Sciences (EAEV)

• Embedded Systems (EBED)

• Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design (EGSD)

• Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics (ETSD)

• Environmental Engineering (ENEV)

• Materials Science (MATS)

• Mathematics (MATH)

• Microbiology (MCRO)

• Physics and Astronomy (PHYS)

• Plant Sciences (PLNT)

• Robotics and Intelligent Machines (ROBO)

• Systems Software (SOFT)

• Translational Medical Science (TMED)

How to Enter

Students who earned 1st place awards in their county fairs are registered by their school science fair coordinator.

Forms

2023 Mason County Science Fair Letter to Students

Judges and Volunteers

The Science Fair can only be made possible with a small army of volunteers.  If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering to help with the Science Fair, please contact Susan Durst susan.durst@k12.wv.us or fill out our Volunteer Form https://forms.office.com/r/qqvN3bpVek