Project Checklist
____ 1. Choose your category
____ 2. Develop a topic, question, and hypothesis
____ 3. Research your question
____ 4. Be sure your experiment design has been approved by your teacher and the school-based science fair review committee or Institutional Review Committee. Use the ISEF forms found at https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/forms/
Required Forms for ALL Projects (see paperwork page)
· Abstract Form with 21 Categories
· Form 1: Checklist for Adult Sponsor
· Form 1A: Student Checklist
· Research Plan or Project Summary 1A2 (see paperwork page)
· Form 1B: Approval Form (Must be included for EACH student)
____ 5. Gather your materials and set up your experiment.
____ 6. Record your data and observations in a journal as you experiment.
____ 7. Organize data in charts or graphs to be analyzed for conclusions.
____ 8. Write your abstract including your question, hypothesis, materials, procedure, results, and conclusion using no more than 250 words on the approved form ISEF form (https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/forms/). You will also need to submit your abstract when your project passes from the school to county to regional to state fairs.
____ 9. Organize a free-standing display that is physical, digital, or a combination of both that does not exceed the display area of 30 inches or 76 centimeters front to back, 48 inches or 122 centimeters wide, or 108 inches or 274 centimeters tall.
____ 10. Be sure your project has a title, question, hypothesis, list of materials, procedure, observations, conclusion, a report, and a list of sources used to gather information
____ 11. Be sure your display shows what and how you have learned about your topic. You may show this using pictures, graphs, charts, etc. A collection or model may be displayed if it follows Science Fair guidelines.
____ 12. Do all the work yourself. You may receive direction or guidance from others; if you do- include who helped you in your report.
____ 13. Be sure your report includes a title, background information on your topic, description of the experiment, summary of your results, and a bibliography.
____ 14. Put together a 3-5-minute presentation for the judges. Substitutes or video/audio presentations are not permitted.
____ 15. Projects must adhere to safety restrictions and display regulations including:
· Absolutely NO liquids not even water
· No hazardous or household chemicals, food, grocery items, spices, or edible items
· No live or dead plants, fruits, seeds, soil, sand, rock, or cement
· No glass (no jars, containers, light bulbs, aquariums, etc.; tablet/laptop computers allowed)
· No exposed sharp objects, pinch points, electrical wires, or other potential hazards
· No insects, animals, body parts or fluids, etc. (living or once living)
· No algae, bacteria, fungi (molds, yeasts), protozoa, viruses, or other microscopic organisms
· 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
* Pictures are a great way to get around these banned items and still show the experiment setup. Be sure the pictures do NOT include faces.
____ 16. Individuals may enter no more than 1 project
____ 17. No student or participant’s faces/photos may appear on the projects
____ 18. Fair directors have the final say on matters not covered in the fair rules, if you have a question ask