Project Rules and Guidelines The following types of experiments are not permitted: Any project involving: live creatures explosives dangerous chemicals (unless the chemicals are approved for use in schools, and the project is carried out in class under the direct supervision of a teacher) projectile weapons bacteria growth (unless conducted in class under the direct supervision of a teacher. If displayed, bacteria must be killed with an appropriate agent, and the display sealed) bodily fluids other than the student's own (displays must be sealed) any display which interferes with the judging of other projects. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Science Fair coordinator. If the students in a team of two are at different grade levels, the project will be judged at the higher level, if the judging categories make that distinction. All students must do a project, individually or in teams of two. Final project marks will be included in the students' school Science mark, with a weight determined by their teacher. The final judges' mark may form part or all of this result; progess report results may also be included, at the discretion of the teacher. Some projects at grade levels 7-10 may also be selected to participate in the Regional Science Fair. Participation there is optional, but might earn participating students bonus marks, at the discretion of their teacher. Selection of these projects will be the responsibility of the coordinator; however, the project selected as 'Best at Fair' will automatically be eligible. Project application forms must be submitted to the coordinator by a set date. After this time, project topics may not be changed. Application forms not submitted by this date may result in mark of zero for the project, at the discretion of the teacher, and these projects will not be eligible to enter the Science Fair. Students or teams who are absent the day of the judging will not be judged that day, and will not be eligible for any of the prizes. Their projects will be judged the following day, by the coordinator, in order to provide a mark to their teacher. The mark may be based solely on the project report, at the discretion of the teacher. Project work is normally done by the student at home. However, some work may be done in class, at the discretion of the teacher. Projects must be totally complete, and set up in the gym on the day before judging. Please note the following criteria for displays: all display materials must be mounted on a single board. the display board must be free-standing, and not wider than 1.5 m when open. any objects on display must fit in the space in front of the board. displays may not be illuminated or highlighted with any devices requiring a wall outlet (120v). However, working models forming part of the display may be powered, at the discretion of the Fair coordinator. Side Note: I developed these guidelines over many years. The very first Fair I was responsible for saw an entry by a student who was keenly interested in how gunpowder was made, as he was a hunter and hand-loaded his own ammunition. He did a good job, but his samples weren't tightly sealed, and somehow were ignited during the Fair. No damage or casualties ... just a really bad smell. I found out later that this sort of project is never allowed at a Fair! Science Fairs