
Display and safety rules
Project presentations must adhere to display and safety rules. These rules ensure fair judging and a quality science and engineering fair for the community.
Project constraints
Items not allowed on project presentation
- Student Names
- Awards, medals, business cards, flags, endorsements and/or acknowledgments (graphic or written) unless the item(s) are an integral part of the project
- Photographs or other visual presentations depicting vertebrate animals in surgical techniques, dissections, necropsies, or other lab procedures
- Postal addresses, e-mail addresses, and telephone/fax numbers of student
- Hyperlinks and internet urls (unless as a source in a photo caption or in the references section)
- Images deemed offensive or inappropriate. This includes, but is not limited to: visually offensive photographs or visual depictions of invertebrate or vertebrate animals, including humans.
- Photos of students are acceptable if they are photographs or visual depictions of the Finalist doing the project, not just a personal portrait (ideally faces should not be displayed at PK-8). (Photos of human subjects are allowed if signed consent forms are included in the SRC paperwork.)
Student Interviews and Videos
Students can show physical models, prototypes, supplemental videos during their interviews as long as those items do not include the following.
- Mold, even if enclosed, and bacteria are NOT ALLOWED.
- Taxidermy specimens or parts
- Preserved vertebrate or invertebrate animals
- Human/animal parts or body fluids (for example, blood, urine). Teeth that have been decontaminated may be exhibited if kept in sealed containers
- Poisons, drugs, controlled substances, hazardous substances or devices (for example, firearms, weapons, ammunition or reloading devices)
- Sharp items (for example, syringes, needles, pipettes, knives)
- Flames or highly flammable materials
- Any apparatus deemed unsafe by the Scientific Review Committee or the Display and Safety Committee (for example, large vacuum tubes or dangerous ray-generating devices, empty tanks that previously contained combustible liquids or gases, pressurized tanks, etc.)
If submitting a link to a student-made YouTube video explaining their project, ensure the video is appropriate and follows the guidelines above. Consent forms are not required for people in the YouTube videos.