Be a Judge for a Science Fair
Judging a science fair is a challenging and rewarding experience for a STEM professional, whether you work in information, physical, life, environmental, or behavioral science, engineering, or technology. As a volunteer you will need to set aside at least one day, and perhaps two depending on your local organization. One day will be for judging; ahead of that, you may need to attend a training seminar.
Woody Allen said that 85% of success is showing up. The kids who create science fair projects are all "winners" in that they have taken on what most others do not. From there, the criteria for greater (to greatest) success become more demanding. Typically, planful competence is easy to spot. When you review the project notebook, the first entry is early in the Fall, maybe even the first day of school. Work continues at a steady pace and gains are made over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks as the kids get extra time at school for help with their projects. Yet, the difference between first and second place may need to be argued out by a committee of senior judges.
As a judge, you will be working with your peers, industry and university people, and often some military officers. You will meet both active and emeritus professionals. While you will be assigned to an area of your expertise based on your application, the opportunity to be challenged always lurks. These kids are smart.
The downside includes the formulaic nature of the process. You have about eight to ten minutes with each of five to ten exhibitors. You will be provided with the rules, the guidelines for applying them, the standards, and the expectations. Some participants may be flagged in advance as "ineligible to proceed." The organizing committees will have previewed and approved all entries before you arrived to judge. A common failing is a that a life science or behavioral science project will lack proper consent forms. "Test subjects played a video game ..." sounds innocuous enough, but it is still an experiment on human subjects and must be monitored and approved by a competent authority. Such rules apply to animals as well. And partipants are not allowed to grow viruses in the family kitchen.
Those problems aside, you read the notebook, read the 3-panel booth, ask a few cogent questions to see if they really understand the material, and then move on. You start with some "Woody Allen Success Score" near 85% and mark up or down from there.
One caveat for judges is that these clever kids know how to turn your question into their next answer. You ask if they considered a bivariate analysis and they will declare that intention to the next judge.
When you are done, you usually can walk the floor to see what else has been entered. I am always pleasantly surprised by the range of inquiries, the depth of thinking, the insightful approaches to gathering data.
As a judge, you should familiarize yourself with the materials given to the exhibitors. They have a ton of resources. The Web is loaded with suggestions, including "The Five Things Never to Say to a Science Fair Judge." Our local fair provides about 30 forms including these:
- Junior/Senior Division Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
- Rules Wizard Tool to help determine what forms your project will require
- Rules for Participation
- ISEF Rules and Guidelines Official Intel ISEF rule book with forms
- Abstract Form
- Media Release and Code of Conduct
- Human Subjects Form
- Human and Vertebrate Animal Tissue Form
"The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), the world's largest international pre-college science competition, provides an annual forum for more than 1,500 high school students from over 70 countries, regions, and territories to showcase their independent research as they compete for more than $3 million annually. The Intel ISEF is the premier global science competition for students in grades 9–12." -- http://www.societyforscience.org/isef/
"The Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) is the nation’s most prestigious science research competition for high school seniors. Since 1942, first in partnership with Westinghouse and beginning in 1998 with Intel, SSP has provided a national stage for the country's best and brightest young scientists to present original research to nationally recognized professional scientists." -- http://www.societyforscience.org/STS
"The Elementary Division fair is held separately from the Middle and High School Divisions. ... The journey to and through Science Festival is one of self discovery. It teaches children to develop questions into formal, testable, and solvable problems; it helps prepare them to approach life's challenges systematically. Learning outcomes and finding answers offer powerful self validation." -- http://www.sciencefest.org/elementary/in...
Woody Allen said that 85% of success is showing up. The kids who create science fair projects are all "winners" in that they have taken on what most others do not. From there, the criteria for greater (to greatest) success become more demanding. Typically, planful competence is easy to spot. When you review the project notebook, the first entry is early in the Fall, maybe even the first day of school. Work continues at a steady pace and gains are made over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks as the kids get extra time at school for help with their projects. Yet, the difference between first and second place may need to be argued out by a committee of senior judges.
As a judge, you will be working with your peers, industry and university people, and often some military officers. You will meet both active and emeritus professionals. While you will be assigned to an area of your expertise based on your application, the opportunity to be challenged always lurks. These kids are smart.
The downside includes the formulaic nature of the process. You have about eight to ten minutes with each of five to ten exhibitors. You will be provided with the rules, the guidelines for applying them, the standards, and the expectations. Some participants may be flagged in advance as "ineligible to proceed." The organizing committees will have previewed and approved all entries before you arrived to judge. A common failing is a that a life science or behavioral science project will lack proper consent forms. "Test subjects played a video game ..." sounds innocuous enough, but it is still an experiment on human subjects and must be monitored and approved by a competent authority. Such rules apply to animals as well. And partipants are not allowed to grow viruses in the family kitchen.
Those problems aside, you read the notebook, read the 3-panel booth, ask a few cogent questions to see if they really understand the material, and then move on. You start with some "Woody Allen Success Score" near 85% and mark up or down from there.
One caveat for judges is that these clever kids know how to turn your question into their next answer. You ask if they considered a bivariate analysis and they will declare that intention to the next judge.
When you are done, you usually can walk the floor to see what else has been entered. I am always pleasantly surprised by the range of inquiries, the depth of thinking, the insightful approaches to gathering data.
As a judge, you should familiarize yourself with the materials given to the exhibitors. They have a ton of resources. The Web is loaded with suggestions, including "The Five Things Never to Say to a Science Fair Judge." Our local fair provides about 30 forms including these:
- Junior/Senior Division Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
- Rules Wizard Tool to help determine what forms your project will require
- Rules for Participation
- ISEF Rules and Guidelines Official Intel ISEF rule book with forms
- Abstract Form
- Media Release and Code of Conduct
- Human Subjects Form
- Human and Vertebrate Animal Tissue Form
"The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), the world's largest international pre-college science competition, provides an annual forum for more than 1,500 high school students from over 70 countries, regions, and territories to showcase their independent research as they compete for more than $3 million annually. The Intel ISEF is the premier global science competition for students in grades 9–12." -- http://www.societyforscience.org/isef/
"The Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) is the nation’s most prestigious science research competition for high school seniors. Since 1942, first in partnership with Westinghouse and beginning in 1998 with Intel, SSP has provided a national stage for the country's best and brightest young scientists to present original research to nationally recognized professional scientists." -- http://www.societyforscience.org/STS
"The Elementary Division fair is held separately from the Middle and High School Divisions. ... The journey to and through Science Festival is one of self discovery. It teaches children to develop questions into formal, testable, and solvable problems; it helps prepare them to approach life's challenges systematically. Learning outcomes and finding answers offer powerful self validation." -- http://www.sciencefest.org/elementary/in...
