Student / Parent Information

IMPORTANT: CHECK YOUR DATES

Please ensure that you know the important deadlines and fair dates as shown on the front page of this website or communicated by your school’s science fair coordinator. Specific deadlines change from year to year, so please adhere to the posted dates closely.

October – December

• Along with the Science Fair coordinator at your school, make the decision to do a science fair project.
• Review all of the information on the Student FAQ’s page for advice on how to do a good science fair project.
• If you plan to use humans or animals in any way, review the Guidelines for Use of Human Subjects and Animals and Policy 20.
• All students must complete an Ethics and Due Care Form 2A  (even if you are doing a research project). As of 2021 the 2A form is completed and submitted on the CYSF Platform.
• If you plan to use human subjects then you must determine the risk associated with your project. Projects falling into the ‘significant risk’ category must complete Participation of Humans – Significant Risk Approval Form 2B. The CYSF Ethics and Due Care Committee makes the final determination of risk. Follow the instructions on the form to send it.
• If you plan to use human subjects in your project then each subject must read and sign the Informed Consent Form 2C before participating. You may be asked for these during judging and should keep them in your logbook.
• Gather background information on your science project from libraries, web sites, etc.
• Begin keeping a logbook of your activities and/or experiments (judges will ask to see your logbook).
• Parents should set aside time on a weekly basis to help and coach children with projects, remembering that all the work must be the children. Make sure they keep a Log Book of their activities and/or experiments.
• Make sure that you have read all the Entry Rules and Safety Regulations — projects must be in compliance with all of the rules and regulations.
• Consider ordering your trifold early as some years suppliers are back-ordered.

December – February

• With guidance from your coordinator and parents, complete your project. Refer to the Student FAQ’s page for good ideas on how to do a good science fair project.
• Make sure you start any experiments early so that you can complete your project by mid-March.
• When your project is complete, determine how you will lay out your project on your trifold, as well as any models or artifacts you might plan to showcase with your project.
• Do a final check to make sure you have followed all the Entry Rules and Safety Regulations.
• Make sure your parents read copies of all the Rules, Instructions, and Regulations to participate in the fair.

February

• Your coordinator will have you register your project on the platform. This must be done by the deadline posted on the CYSF homepage timeline. Typically the first week in February.
• Ensure you have Ethics approval on the CYSF Platform. Projects without approval by the deadline posted on the CYSF homepage timeline will not be eligible to set-up at the Olympic Oval.
• Please review the Project DIVISIONS/TOPICS before you complete your registration on the platform.

March

• During March, you need to complete your project, doing any last edits and additions.
• Refer to the timeline posted on the CYSF homepage. There will be a date posted in March for projects to be completed online. After this date, no further modifications to your project will be allowed on the platform. Give yourself plenty of time to make sure all edits are complete by this date.
• Again, review the Project FAQ page for advice and information on how to do a good science fair project.

Student/Project Registration and Completion

• You must have your project registered online by February 7th.
• You must have your Ethics completed and approved online by February 7th.
• You must have your project completed online by March 21st.  After this date, no further changes to your project will be allowed.

Project Set-up/Judging (April 10th/11th)

• Students will come to the Olympic Oval to check-in and set-up their Trifolds. Typically this has been between 12-6pm. Coordinators on the email communications list will receive further instructions in late March or early April.
• Following project set-up students are assigned judging teams, therefore ONLY projects that check-in and set up on Thursday April 10^th will be judged
• If students are unable to make it on Thursday April 10^th they can have parents, peers or teachers check-in and set up their trifold for them
• Only students who have been selected for judging by their coordinator and who have completed the declaration section on the platform will be able to check-in, please review this criteria with your students.

• Judging will occur in-person at the Olympic Oval on April 11th.
• If you are selected to be judged for the second round, you will be contacted and assigned a time window for second round judging.
• Students are asked to be at the Oval for 8am and until 3:30pm on April 11th.
• Medal round judging happens in the morning. ALL students will be judged 2-5 times by different judges.
• Award round judging happens in the afternoon, only projects qualifying for an award will be judged in the afternoon.
• There will be a noon time speaker presentation
• Only students are invited to the Oval on Friday April 11th, and will be supervised closed by CYSF directors and volunteers.
  • If teachers or parents would like to be in attendance they can contact volunteers@cysf.org about volunteering in a supervisory and/or judging role.

Award Ceremony (April 12th)

• There will be an awards ceremony on April 12th at the Olympic Oval.
  • Typically students are asked to be at the oval between 9am and about 1:15pm.
  • Medals and floor awards will be presented to students at their projects
  • Major awards will be presented on stage
  • Students who are not able to make it to the awards ceremony should arrange for someone to pick-up their trifold and their medal.