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Competitions

Projects that do not follow ISEF rules will be rejected.

Open Competitions are for individual students or pairs of students who have a question they would like to answer, or a curiosity about something they would like to understand. The entry is based on the attempt to answer this question or to satisfy a curiosity. Students design and conduct experiments in an attempt to answer a question, or make many observations to gain knowledge in an attempt to satisfy curiosity. Sometimes it is a mixture of both. In any case, students will record observations and try to explain all efforts made to someone else.

Entrants are expected to bring their data and other records, and a poster to display their efforts. If someone (such as a judge) should ask them to describe their adventure, they would need to be able to present these things.

  1. What got them started, and how did they proceed?
  2. What was their data and what did they learn?
  3. What would they change if they did it again?

Challenge Competitions are intended for teams of up to four students, but an individual student could do a challenge project alone if desired. The competitions require competitors to solve a structured problem using good scientific principles. These competitors may require students with strengths that span a variety of disciplines. All research and development will be done prior to the competition. Competitors are expected to bring their completed model and a poster which is intended to show all of their efforts.

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