FAQ
Each student has a one on one conversations with each of the 2 judges per grade level. When children arrive they are given a schedule of 2 times to be standing at their board when a judge comes to talk to them. Parents should not be in eye sight for the judging conversation. That's really distracting for the kids. The judges, who are usually kind, sit down on eye level with the kids to ask questions about the project to see what the child learned. The children can use their boards and props to explain their processes. The project does not have to be complex or even "work" for the children to learn something. Often, the judges are impressed when something goes wrong and the children understand why. The judges meet in the judging room during lunch and choose a winner from each grade. At the Awards Ceremony after lunch, all students receive at least a yellow ribbon. More than 1 student can receive a red or blue ribbon and only 1 from each grade receives a special certificate and prize. There are also prizes for Student Choice and recognition for kids who have been there 5 or 10 years, etc.
Yes!
Suggestions from a veteran homeschool mom:
"Almost of my children's projects have been "Last Minute" ;) But, to be fair, they've won on average more yellow ribbons than blue. We find that trying the experiment once, fixing what goes wrong and doing it again, really increases the learning factor. I recommend doing as many repetitions of the project as possible in your short time period. This helps increase both understanding and accurate results. Any time you work through the who-oooole process, even with a really simple, quick projects, the kids learn so much and feel accomplished at the end. Also, the day of fair is fun! You get to be a part of an event with lots of families all together, see science demonstrations, encourage each other, watch a robot team, get a ribbon, eat snacks: so worth it!"
ISEF, International Science Engineering Fair, is the world’s largest international pre-college STEM competition
