Review the sample exhibit display to aid in developing your own.

The scientists at Fernbank Science Center are available for you to ask questions and gather additional ideas for your science and engineering fair needs. Please access the link below to meet and ask the instructors questions via email.

Review the Judging Criteria to learn how projects are evaluated

Here is a suggested presentation format for face-to-face interviews: 

1. Introduce yourself and give the title of your project. 

2. Give some background to your project – why did it interest you? How did you come up with your research question? 

3. State your hypothesis and discuss your goals for the project. If you know of any research that has been done before that is similar to yours, talk about that and discuss how your project is different. 

4. Discuss your methodology, how you developed your procedures, and how you carried out your experiments. Did you encounter any unanticipated issues? Let’s hear about those! Point to any visuals on your board such as charts or diagrams (no need to zoom in – your judge will have a photo of your exhibit board to reference). Explain your variables and identify your controls. 

5. Discuss your results, again pointing out items on your board if appropriate. 

6. Conclude with an explanation of whether your results supported your hypothesis. If they did not, discuss why that might be. Talk about broader implications for your research, the most important things that you learned, what you could have done differently, and how your research could be expanded in the future. 

7. Run out of things to say? Think back to some of the questions the judges asked you at your school or regional fair. 

1. Be sure your exhibit board adheres to the DRSEF Display & Safety Regulations. Access the Digital Display Template here. Examples of common violations: 

• SIZE: The entire exhibit must fit within the following dimensions: 30 inches depth, 48 inch- es width, 72 inches height 

• SOURCE CREDITS: Every single photograph, graph, table, chart, and image must have a source credit associated with it, visible some- where on the front of the board or on a ‘table tent’ (e.g., “All photographs taken by John 

Smith”; “Graph A created by Mary Brown”; “Image taken from www.hereisawebsite.com”; etc.) 

• CONTACT INFORMATION: No postal addresses, URLs (other than those used solely to cite the sources of photos), email address, social media handles, QR codes, or phone/fax numbers of any exhibitor or their school or research institution are allowed. 

• UNOFFICIAL ABSTRACTS: No unofficial abstracts are allowed, including any paragraph or section on the board titled “Abstract” followed by anything other than the Official GSEF Abstract form. Students must change section headers to “Summary” or remove them completely. 

• PROHIBITED ITEMS: Some materials such as liquid (including water), food, glass, dirt, sand, or glass are not allowed at the exhibit. See regulations for complete list. Safety hazards are not allowed. 

2. If the exhibit board shows photos/videos of people other than the exhibitor, a signed photograph release statement must be uploaded with the supplementary materials. If the individual in the photograph is under 18, a parent/guardian signature is required. 

Projects exhibiting at the DeKalb Regional Science & Engineering Fair must be entered in ONE of the 21 categories, selected by the exhibitor during DRSEF registration. School sponsors and the school-based committee are the first point of contact when determining the appropriate category for the projects.

1) Life Sciences Categories 

2) Medicine & Health Categories

3) Math, Computing & Engineering Categories 

4) Earth, Energy & Environment Categories

 5) Physical Sciences Categories 

The DeKalb Regional Science and Engineering Fair judging process places special emphasis on the student’s ability to discuss the project effectively during the interview, as well as the project’s demonstration of originality, creativity, imagination, discovery, and inventiveness. Exhibits should serve two functions: 1) to present the research clearly when the student is not present, and 2) to guide the interview toward an in-depth discussion. Judges may examine the research paper as well. 

The DeKalb Regional Science and Engineering Fair judging process places special emphasis on the student’s ability to discuss the project effectively during the interview, as well as the project’s demonstration of originality, creativity, imagination, discovery, and inventiveness. Exhibits should serve two functions: 1) to present the research clearly when the student is not present, and 2) to guide the interview toward an in-depth discussion. Judges may examine the research paper as well.