A: The size requirement for most of Ohio's science fairs is that the project must fit on a standard (3 foot x 3 foot) cardtable. For students interested in the Regional and International competitions the size limits are 76 cm (deep) x 122 cm (wide) x 274 cm (high-from the floor). This translates into 30" x 48" x 108".
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A: You are encouraged to assist your student scientist as long as they are the major planner, experimenter, report writer, and display developer. The key roles of a parent in these projects are: morale booster, logic testers, extra sets of hands and eyes, possible treasurers, and possible transportation directors.
Please avoid the situation where your child claims that they are too busy, sick, etc. to do their project and they ask you to do their project for them. Remember that this assignment was probably started early in the school year and that the project is evaluated on your son/daughter's knowledge of and their work on the project. Several times over the years judges have commented on great project topics but that the student knows very little about the project. Parents need to guide their child's work and assist them......... not do it for them!
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A: Science fair judges are volunteers from the area who evaluate the project in four areas. These areas of judging are: knowledge achieved, use of the scientific method, originality/creativity, and clarity of expression. Each area can be scored from 1 to 10 points with a higher score indicating better work. The total of these four categories is used to determine the award ratings of Satisfactory, Good, Excellent, and Superior. The point values for these ratings are 4-11 Satisfactory, 12-23 Good, 24-35 Excellent, and 36-40 Superior. Selection of projects for further competitions is based on the judges ratings, quotas from the contests, and teacher recommendation. Other science fairs use similar or the same system for judging.