About the Competition
Rules & Regulations
1
Project Rules
- Projects can be done by individuals or larger groups (no limit on group size).
- It doesn’t have to be a very detailed project, but could also be an explanation of a scientific phenomenon (ex. How does a plane fly?) with or without a physical project attached.
2
Requirements
- Can use printouts or hand-write (legible)
- Can be a slideshow
- Can be a physical project
- Can be a poster or drawing
- Must follow Safety Guidelines and Project Limitations
3
Neccessary Information
(In bold is required. In italics is highly recommended)
- A title (can be a question or "the effect of")
- Independent, Dependent, and Controlled Variables
- Control groups/Constants can be included
- Data/Evidence collected from the experiment
- Can be qualitative, quantitive, and/or graphical
- Pictures or drawings of some sort to show the procedure
- A conclusion that sums up results
- A description of your procedure using written steps
- A verbal presentation or form of communication from student
- Physical evidence that adheres to rules (e.g. what's left of your baking soda volcano or the coke bottle you added mentos to)
- All students' names on poster/slides/form of presentation
4
Prizes
- To Be Decided
5
Sample Project Categories
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Mathematics
- Earth Science
- Computer Science
6
Safety Guidelines and Project Limitations
- No food
- No animals or insects (alive or dead)
- No engineering projects can be flown indoors (but they can be displayed)
- No projects involving dangerous chemicals or materials
- Nothing alive (microbes, bacteria, fungi, or protists) and no virii
- No projects involving open flames or high heat
- No weaponry, heat, or dangerous tools can be brought into the library
- No projects involving human or animal subjects
- No projects that are offensive or discriminatory
- No projects that are too complex or dangerous for a middle school student to complete safely
Grading Rubric
| Requirements Met | 4* | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 of the requirements have been met 0 |
*if the optional information is listed, it might help in score increase
Science Experiment
| 1. Title | Title does relate variables and talk about a scientific subject. | Title is given, but doesn’t relate the variables or talk about a scientific subject. | No title given |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. Hypothesis | Hypothesis is complete and with a prediction. | Hypothesis doesn’t have a prediction | No hypothesis |
| 3. Variables | All variables are listed accurately | Some variables are listed accurately | No variables listed |
| 4. Evidence | *Several forms of data included (quality, quantity, graph) and pictures/drawings | One form of data included | No data/evidence given |
| 5. Conclusion | A conclusion that sums up data. | A conclusion that does not reject/support hypothesis | No conclusion |
| 6. Verbal Presentation | Understands and presents project. | Understands project but not well enough to present | No understanding of project or no presentation at all. |
| 7. Idea | Not an overused idea or an overused idea with a twist to it. *** | Overused idea | Poor project that is not scientific |
| 8. Execution | Done by themselves with minimal help from non-members. | Partially done by themself/selves and partially done by non-members. | Done with full assistance of members outside of the project |
*** Idea never has to be unique or unused, but should not be overused or poorly executed
Engineering Project
| 1. Title | Title does relate variables and talk about a scientific subject. | Title is given, but doesn’t relate the variables or talk about a scientific subject. | No title given |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. Problem | A solvable problem is stated. | X | No problem is stated. |
| 3. Project | A physical object or several high quality images of object (ex. An image of a bridge that was broken in testing) as evidence of project is presented. | No physical project or proper images presented. | No project nor images brought or presented. |
| 4. Evidence | *Several forms of data included (quality, quantity, graph) and pictures/drawings | One form of data included | No data/evidence given |
| 5. Conclusion | A conclusion that sums up data. | A conclusion that does not reject/support hypothesis | No conclusion |
| 6. Verbal Presentation | Understands and presents project. | Understands project but not well enough to present | No understanding of project or no presentation at all. |
| 7. Authenticity | Not an overused idea or an overused idea with a twist to it. | Overused idea | Poor project that is not scientific |
| 8. Execution | Done by themselves with minimal help from non-members. | Partially done by themself/selves and partially done by non-members. | Done with full assistance of members outside of the project |
Sample Project
Full Schedule
| HH:MM | Presentation #1 | Thermodynamics |
|---|---|---|
| HH:MM | Presentation #2 | Polymer Chemistry |
| HH:MM | Break | Enjoy a short break! |
| HH:MM | Presentation #3 | Earth Science |
| HH:MM | Presentation #4 | Modular Arithmetic |
| HH:MM | Presentation #5 | Synopsis |
Our Team
2024 Judges
2023 Judges
Thank you to everybody who contributed to this event as this could not have been made possible without the support of you all!
Steve Yang
General Judge
Siri K
Founder & General Judge
Benjamin Zhang
Math Judge
Shashwat Dubey
Web Developer
Sanya Badhe
Math & Physics Judge
Abhiram Manuguri
Math & Earth Science Judge
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