SEFMD
- What’s New for the 2006 Fair – (as of
Please
note the following key things for the 2006 Science and Engineering Fair of
Metropolitan
(1) Our
official address is: SEFMD,
(2) Institutional
Review Board: Any project that
involves the use of human subjects (surveys, testing, etc) must be approved by
the SCHOOL Institutional Review Board prior to the SRC Deadline given on the
major events calendar. The school IRB
must consist of three members (school administrator, science teacher, and a
medical person such as a school nurse or doctor) and none of the members may be
a sponsor for a student. A special IRB
training class is available on-line through the web site. If a
school does not have a functioning IRB, projects involving human subjects will
not be permitted. Click here to see power point of IRB
training in HTML format or in
PowerPoint Format
(3) School Affiliation Agreement: The participating school must complete a ‘school affiliation agreement/information form’ prior to any entry forms being received from the school. The school information form provides the Science Fair Office with a central contact at the school. Internet entries WILL NOT be accepted until an updated School Information Form is on file. Cost of affiliation is $25 before November 1 and increases considerably after Nov 1
(4) Junior
Division Team Projects: Continuing a pilot program from last year, this
year we will allow Junior Division (7th & 8th Grade)
Team Projects. Each school may send a
maximum of FOUR
Team projects for competition. Unlike
the normal Junior Division Individual projects, the team project students will
need to be present during judging on Wednesday from
(5) Entry Quota - Junior Division Schools: All Junior Division Schools (7th and 8th grades) will be given a quota for the maximum number of individual entries they will be allowed. For those schools that entered the 2005 SEFMD, this quota will be 120% of the number of projects that showed at the 2005 Fair, with a minimum of 25 students. There is a MAXIMUM of 50 students per school. This MAXIMUM may be increased to 75 if the school supplies an ACTIVE representative to be part of the Operating Council associated with the Science Fair. If a school did not enter the 2005 SEFMD, the quota is the same as it was last year. Each school can find out what its quota is by going to the web site www.sefmd.org or referring to the accompanying information sheet. In addition, the Team quota of FOUR projects may be increased to SIX if the school partners with a Title I school
Schools are asked to pre-select their best projects up to their quota and enter only those projects. Projects may be disqualified during Phase 1 Judging if there are entry form errors such as no grade, no classification, etc., or if there appear to be SRC violations. Entry forms still need to be completed in a careful and thorough manner.
If your school has both Junior and Senior Divisions, please remember to enter the projects separately, using separate transmittal forms for each division.
(7) Entry Quota – Senior Division Schools: Senior Division Schools (9th-12th grades) are encouraged to select only their best projects for entry in the SEFMD. Please use the following guidelines, based on your number of anticipated entries in the SEFMD:
(a) 1-25 anticipated entries: no prior authorization required.
(b) 26-50 anticipated entries: no prior
authorization required; the school must conduct a local school science fair
before the entry form deadline and select their best projects.
(c) 51-75 anticipated entries: the school must conduct a school science fair
before
(8) Entry Form Procedures: Last year, 97% of all entries were via the internet. Consequently, we have eliminated manual entry forms for submission into the Science Fair. The only method available for entry is via the internet (Note: If this presents a grave hardship for a particular school, please contact the Science Fair Office prior to February 1 for options). Students are alerted immediately if there is a potential SRC violation; teachers are notified immediately if students have entered online. There will be a $25 school registration fee plus $5 entry fee for each individual project submitted and $10 for each TEAM project submitted. Note that this fee is for projects submitted and does not depend on the projects accepted or the projects that actually participate in the Science Fair. No money needs to accompany the entry forms. Schools will be sent an invoice after the entries have been received and payment must be received by the date given on the Major Events Calendar. Credit card payments (via the internet) will be taken on-line for the entire school.
Senior division students should complete the Checklist for Adult Sponsor/Safety Assessment Form (1), Research Plan (1A), and Approval Form (1B) before beginning their projects but you do not need to submit these with your entry forms this year. Each student should have a copy of these forms in his or her project notebook which is brought to the Fair.
(9) Phase 1 Judging – In the past, all projects were read and evaluated prior to being accepted for competition at Cobo Hall. Phase 1 Judging for entries submitted on-line via the internet has been eliminated except for projects requiring SRC approval (JR and SR divisions). After a project is submitted on-line, the student and teacher will be immediately notified if it has been accepted for competition. Schools are encouraged to send only their best projects within their quota. Phase 1 judging may be re-instated without notice if the capacity of the hall is exceeded.
(10)
Reminder about Additional Required Forms: Projects that use vertebrate animals, human
subjects, human or animal tissue, recombinant DNA, pathogenic agents, or
controlled substances require additional forms.
These forms may be obtained by request from the Science Fair office or
from our web site at www.sefmd.org. All of these forms must be completed before
beginning your project. The student
must enter on-line prior to submitting the additional SRC forms. Change in SRC Forms: There is a
new category called “Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents” that includes the
former categories of pathogens, tissues, and recombinant DNA. See the rules book for details.
Senior Division students (grades 9-12) must submit these forms to the Science Fair office by 5:00 p.m. on the SRC deadline date in order to receive approval from the Science Fair’s Scientific Review Committee/Institutional Review Board. If the project involves human subjects, it must first be approved by the school’s local Institutional Review Board. Forms are welcomed any time prior to that date.
Junior Division students (grades 7 & 8) should keep these completed forms in their project notebooks; SRC/IRB pre-approval is not needed. When you bring your project to the fair, you will be asked to show the completed paperwork. If the forms have not been completed or they are incomplete, this will result in disqualification from the Fair.
As in the past, if any project is found to violate any of the rules regarding animals, humans, etc. at any stage of the entry/judging process, the project will be disqualified.
(11)
Additional
awards at the Science and Engineering Fair: This year, a larger number of
professional award organizations and companies will be presenting prestigious
and monetary awards. All students
entering the fair will be eligible for these awards. Senior division students will be competing
for scholarships from
(12) Details for the 12th Annual Michigan Science & Engineering Fair will be released in November, 2005. All Senior division first place winners and some selected 2nd place and 3rd place winners will be invited to participate in the State Fair competition. These students will be competing for additional state fair awards and scholarships, as well as competing for a place as an ISEF Finalist. The State Fair awards presentation will be held that same day. Two students from the Michigan Science and Engineering Fair will also be selected to attend the International Science Fair.
(13) Entrance Fee: This year, there will be a ‘school affiliation fee’ of $25.00 if paid prior to November 1 (there is a late fee for payment received after November 1). If a school has students in both the junior and senior division, there is only one school affiliation fee that is collected. This fee will be used to process the entries from a particular school. The entrance fee of $5.00 for individual projects remains the same. The entrance fee for TEAM projects (both in the Junior and Senior Division) has changed to $10.00/project (to offset the cost of the additional awards for the team members.
(14)
The
International Science & Engineering Fair will be held May 7-13 in
Address: This year all SRC forms should be MAILED. There is NO physical office or
receptionist. The following is our
official address:
SEFMD ●