Letter to educators

To Teachers of Science,

I invite you to review the materials linked to this web page and consider sponsoring students enrolled in your science and technology classes (Grades 6-12) to participate in the Northeast Arkansas Regional Science Fair (NEARSF). The 2024 NEARSF will be back in the Reng Student Union’s Centennial Hall on the A-State Jonesboro Campus, click the tabs above for more information. Individual students and teams will receive recognition for outstanding science fair projects in various areas of science and engineering. Up to three winners in the senior division and their sponsoring teachers will be eligible to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2024 (ISEF). The travel and lodging expenses for the selected senior division projects and their sponsoring teachers will be paid for through the NEARSF. The NEARSF is sponsored by Arkansas State University and private monetary donations provided by businesses and members of the northeast Arkansas community.

You must use this year's ISEF forms. Please read the ISEF International Rules and Guidelines 2023—2024 book and adhere to the rules. These same rules will be strictly adhered to by the Northeast Arkansas Regional Science Fair (NEARSF) [representing the NE Arkansas Counties of Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Lee, Mississippi, Phillips, Poinsett, Randolph, Sharp, St. Francis, and Stone]. Every student (each team member completes a separate form) must complete [ISEF booklet page 31] 

·       the Checklist for Adult Sponsor/Safety Assessment Form 1, 

·       Student Checklist 1A, 

·       Research Plan Attachment, 

·       Approval Form 1B (MUST do part 1, if required also part 2a or part 2b, but NOT part 3) before starting (we will reject projects with backdated forms); note that a student's adult sponsor cannot be on student's Scientific Review Committee (SRC) or Institutional Review Board (IRB). 

Please be aware that additional forms will need to be filled out and processed (i.e., Team Projects Form, Continuation Projects Form, forms for experiments involving vertebrates, tissue, hazardous substances, possibly hazardous pathogens, drugs, and surveys). These forms must also be completed and approved before the project begins, some by special committees (see ISEF booklet for committee composition requirements). The forms are also on this webpage under Information.

Because of the extremely detailed display restrictions specified in the ISEF rules that the NEARSF follows, student exhibits are severely limited in what may be displayed. You are advised to counsel your students to use a series of photos (8x10 inch size is best, for 3x5 inch is too small to show much and larger sizes take lots of space without adding detail). Too many photos confuse the flow of the viewer's eye, so 6-12 photos with clear-large-print captions and a few sheets of description (using a large font) before and after the photos provide an excellent procedure for displaying a project. Students must display a clear statement of hypothesis, method, results, and conclusions if they expect to win. When possible, control experiments should be performed & included in both display and discussion. The required experimental notebook should contain the detail, not the display.

We expect to cover expenses for three overall individual winners of the NEARSF to present at the international science fair. The NEARSF is supported by Arkansas State University, private financial contributions and donations.

Respectfully,

The NEARSF Director

Amanda Lambertus

Chair of Mathematics and Statistics

Associate Professor of Mathematics Education

Arkansas State University