The MN Academy of Science State Science Fair is a yearly event for Junior and Senior high students who have previously participated in, and won, a regional Minnesota Fair.

Junior High School students who won at their Regional Fair may be eligible to submit a Project, a Paper, or both a Project and a Paper to the State Science Fair. Junior High winners will be able to submit information about their Project and/or Paper during the registration process.

Senior High School project presenters who won at their Regional Fair are eligible to present their project at the State Fair. Senior High School Paper presenters who won at their Regional do NOT compete in the State Science Fair.

These Senior High Papers are presented at an event that occurs just before the State Science Fair, called JSHS. Therefore, Senior high students who won BOTH project and paper competitions at their Regional Fair will need to register for two separate events - JSHS (at which they present their paper) and the State Science Fair (at which they present their project).

Parents, siblings, teachers, and coaches are invited to attend the State Science Fair and participate in its events. A separate registration package is available for observers wishing to attend the Fair.

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Registration for student presenters, family, and teachers/coaches is done completely online. As part of the registration process, presenters will email MAS an electronic copy of their abstract. Abstracts will be available online for all attendees to search, view and print.

Presenters must register for the State Science Fair within 5-10 business days of winning their regional Fair (exact deadline depends on the Region).; late registration will incur additional fees.

3/20/2009 -	Family and friends must be registered by this date. No registrations will be accepted after this date.
3/20/2009 -	Presenters must have all of their SRC Paperwork faxed or mailed in to the MAS office. Presenters who have not completed and sent in SRC Paperwork will not be eligible to compete.
3/20/2009 -	All payments and release forms must be in the MAS office by this date. Incomplete registrations may be cancelled after this date.

As part of the Registration process, you will receive information about how to check the current status of your registration. It is your responsibility to check your registration, and anyone registered with you to ensure that all information has been submitted.

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Schedules will be posted online. Last minute changes may occur, so we ask that you check the online version before leaving for the Fair. The current schedule for the Fair will be as follows:

All attendees must check in at Registration during the afternoon. All check-in is done alphabetically by last name. While schools may arrive as a large group, each student, parent or teacher will pick up their own registration packet. Packets will contain a nametag which will act as your pass to get you in to events and meals during the Fair. Do not lose your nametag!

Following registration, all Project Presenters must set up their projects. Project Presenter setup is a multi-step process:

1.)	When you check in you will be assigned an exhibit number that designates where you will be presenting on the exhibit floor.
2.)	Go to your spot and set up your project. You will have an index card with all of your information on it as part of your check-in packet. Coaches and parents are allowed on the exhibit floor during set up to assist students. The exhibit hall will be locked down at a specific time (check the most recent schedule for current times), and no one will be allowed on the exhibit floor after that time, for any reason.
Avoid Common protocol violations: You MUST display your abstract at your project. You SHOULD have copies of your abstract to hand out to people who request them. We recommend that you bring a dozen copies of the abstracts with you to hand out. It's wise to include your name, school, grade, and project title on the abstracts so people can easily reference them.
3.)	In your registration packet, you will find an index card with your Project information. Once you have set up your project, you MUST take this index card with you to the Protocol table in the Exhibit Hall and have a Protocol Judge inspect and approve your project's display. If you have not followed appropriate protocol in your display, you will have time to make changes up until the time the Exhibit Hall is locked down for the night. You CANNOT present your project unless it has been approved by Protocol. Please read the Protocol section below for more information.
4.)	When you have set up and been cleared by Protocol, please follow the signs to the correct exit from the exhibit hall. The exit corridor contains many things for you to pick up including goodie bags, t-shirts, and participation medals. T-Shirts are first-come, first-served, and the smaller sizes always go quickly. Come early to make sure you get the right size t-shirt.
Avoid Common protocol violations: You MUST have credit on your board for all pictures or Images/. Most commonly, credit for Images/ could be done by putting a note on a corner of your display saying "All photographs taken by presenter, unless otherwise documented" or "All Images/ drawn by Presenter." If you use Photos or Images/ that you did not produce, you must credit the source of each image. The easiest way to do that is to attach a small note or label to the bottom of each image that explains the source of the image.

Junior High Paper competition will take place throughout the afternoon on Day 1. Paper presenters should check in early in the day to be ready to present their Papers. Check the online schedule for current registration and Paper presentation times. The final presentation schedule will be online the week before the State Fair.

All registered students, teachers and parents are invited to the opening ceremony and dinner. Dress comfortably. A social event is planned for students on the first night, but make sure to get lots of sleep, project presenters will have a busy second day.

Read the Paper and Project Presentation Tips and Guidelines

Breakfast starts early, usually before 8am.

Project presentation and judging will be between 9 am and 4pm. Project presenters will need to be there during assigned blocks of time throughout the day. You will present to up to 6 judges during this time, in assigned 15 minute blocks. Please prepare a 2 or 3 minute presentation and leave the rest of the time open for judges to ask you questions. Be prepared to answer questions and have a discussion with the judges. They want to hear you tell about your experiences and theories, and they will be testing to see how well you know your subject.

Many of the judges are scientists, but they may not be familiar with your topic. Make sure to explain things that the average person may not know, but don't dumb down your project. The most skilled presenters can present information to an expert or to a novice with the same speech. Judges will have copies of your abstract, but bring extra copies for anyone else who might be interested in learning about your research.

Lunch is on your own. Many groups of students or schools will gather all students together to relax somewhere in the hotel and eat together. You will have no more than an hour for lunch, so stay on site. Teachers and chaperones - plan ahead to provide food for your kids.

Project Presentations are open to the public for an hour during the afternoon. You should be at your project during this time as well. Special Judging may overflow in to this time slot, as some judges may have many projects to review.

Dinner is on your own.

This is the first of two Awards ceremonies. It takes place after the dinner hour so you will have time to find food. Students should dress nicely for this event - winners will have their pictures taken.

Tonight all registered Students are invited to a dance and all registered Adults are invited to an adult mixer. Dress comfortably and plan on being social.

Project presenters may pick up their judges' comment sheets in the morning and then attend the Special Awards brunch and closing ceremonies.

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Judging for Special Awards will occur during regular awards judging. You may be visited by a number of special awards judges during the day. There are many special awards donated from businesses and organizations. These awards vary from year to year, and are in addition to the standard awards given by MAS and its sponsors. Organizations presenting special awards will review abstracts before the Fair to determine which projects are eligible for Special Awards. You will not need to sign up for these awards.

If you are competing at the State Fair, you have already won at your school and at your region levels. You are obviously an A-level science student. At the State Science Fair, there are no losers; you have to be a winner to be here at all.

There are 3 sets of awards that can be won at State:

1.)	Seagate Awards - including the Seagate Mentor Awards and the Rising Star Awards.
2.)	MN Academy of Science Awards - Best in Category (28 projects), Best Overall (2 projects), Outstanding First year presenters (30 projects), These are based directly on the scores of the judging on Day 2 for the Projects.
3.)	Special Awards - vary each year, including cash prizes, tours, books and certificates, and opportunities to compete in other programs. Special Awards are based on the project judging scores from the morning of Day 2 and/or additional judging by special awards judges.

Why did I not have as many judges as the person next to me? Because of last minute judge changes, it is possible that one project may get one or two more judges than another project. We work hard to ensure that every student is judged the same number of times as every other student. But even if you do not receive as many judges as other students, we normalize scores to account for these variances. The number of times you meet with a judge will not impact your eligibility for prizes.

Why didn't I see many Special Awards judges? Special Awards judges determine which projects they wish to review based on abstracts that presenters submit during registration. Special Awards judges also will review projects before students arrive on Day 2, and may limit the list of students they speak to based on their early view of the projects.

If I won awards last year, am I less likely to win them this year, or will I be disqualified from winning them this year? Of course not. The State Science Fair is about excellence in science, awards are made based on the work you did on this year's project or Paper.

Can I win more than one award? There are no limits on how many awards can be won by any student. The Academy wants as many students as possible to win an award, but we do not believe in altering the results or recommendations of our judges to spread out the awards. Certain projects may be extremely well done and well-presented. These projects are likely to win many awards. The Academy has a wide range of awards, spanning all categories and ages. This is to try to ensure a diverse group of winners. This is due to the exceptional quality of students and teachers who reach the State level.

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Presenters are not required to stay in the hotel during the Fair, though it is recommended. Students who are staying at the hotel should have a chaperone staying with them. You must make your own hotel reservations. We have negotiated a discounted rate for your stay.

When you are presenting, dress professionally. Ladies should wear skirts or nice slacks, with a blouse or sweater. Gentlemen should wear slacks and dress shirts. Ties or suit coats look sharp but are not required. Sneakers, jeans, and t-shirts are never appropriate when presenting. Appearances matter, but the most important part of your appearance is your attitude: smile at the judges; shake their hands and introduce yourself; explain to the judges what your project is about and ask them if they have any questions; thank them when you are done. Wear your presentation clothes when you rehearse your presentation so you feel comfortable in them.

Awards Ceremonies - dress nicely. Winners will be having their photos taken - think about how you want to appear on the website and in future MAS publications.

Social Time - dress comfortably. Be yourself.

There are a few organized social events for parents and teachers, but most of the State Science Fair is about the kids. Joint events like banquets and ceremonies are open to all registered participants, adult or student. While your student is presenting, you can enjoy the sites in the host city, relax by the hotel pool, bring a good book or try a local restaurant. A lounge is provided for families, teachers, and chaperones to talk or to meet their students. The kids need a lot of encouragement and support. Plan your free time so you can be there for them in between presentations in case they need you.

If you have additional questions about the State Science Fair, you can call our office at 952-545-6789. For help with registering, call our webmasters, Joe and Max, at 612-605-7223 or EMAIL

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The Academy needs your cooperation and support to ensure a successful State Science Fair. If we suggest that you do something, it is to improve your chances of success. If we require you to do something, this reflects the rules set to ensure Fair competition and judging. You must comply with these rules to compete.

If you encounter a problem, we will do our best to help you resolve it. But please plan ahead to prevent dramatic consequences. Make a list of things you need to bring to the Fair, if you are not sure if something will be provided, bring it with you. Bring copies of all of your paperwork, abstracts, and confirmations. Check the final schedules once they are posted so you know when and where you should be.

The Minnesota Academy of Science has always been proud of the fine character of State Science Fair participants. We strive to offer as many awards as possible, but the State Science Fair is not about awards. This is a unique educational experience and we believe that all students who participate in the State Science Fair will gain important experiences and achieve personal growth. We expect that parents and teachers will support their students in making this a positive experience for all participants.

Your cooperation and support will ensure an enriching experience for everyone.