State Science & Engineering Fair

Project Guidelines for Junior and Senior High students

Current Categories for Projects

You will be required to assign your project to one of the following categories:

Animal Sciences

Behavioral & Social Sciences

Biochemistry

Cellular & Molecular Biology

Chemistry

Computer Science

Earth and Planetary Science

Energy & Transportation

Engineering: Materials & BioEng.

Engineering: Electrical & Mechanical

Environmental Management

Environmental Science & Analysis

Mathematical Sciences

Medicine & Health Sciences

Microbiology

Physics & Astronomy

Plant Sciences

Paper Guidelines for Junior High students

Junior High Paper guidelines and presentations are based on the Senior High guidelines, at the National JSHS site:

Please read the National Paper Guidelines

Oral Presentation Guidelines

You must bring 6-10 copies of your Abstract to hand out to judges. Also bring copies of all your registration forms/information with you to the Symposium.

PRESENTATION LENGTH - You will have 12 minutes for your presentation, followed by 6 minutes for questions from the judges. The room moderator will signal you when you have one minute left and stop you at the end of 12 minutes.

CALLBACKS - Some students will be called back for an additional 5 minute Q & A with the judges about their presentation. Call backs are a method for judges to gather more information before making their final decisions. You do NOT need to receive a call back to win.

Aids to presentation. No written handouts, other than Abstracts are permitted. Research apparatus may be used if it is integral to the presentation and only if it is hand-held.

You are the expert. No one in the audience knows as much about your research investigation as you. Therefore, remember to explain your research in enough detail so the audience will understand what you did, how you did it, and what you learned.

Whenever possible, avoid jargon or unnecessary terminology. If it is essential to use specialized terms, remember to explain the specialized term briefly. Give your audience enough time to understand what you are trying to convey.

Graphs, tables and other representation help explain your results. Keep them simple and uncluttered. Focus on important information; for example, remember to name the variables on both axes of a graph, and state the significance of the position and shape of the graph line.

Deliver your presentation at a comfortable pace. It helps to practice your presentation before a non-specialized audience. Practice will help you perfect the presentation and the timing. Do listen to the advice of your non-specialized audience but also get help from a teacher or other advisor as needed.