NYS SCIENCE CONGRESS 

INFORMATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

The State Science Congress has a junior and a senior division. Students may work alone or in a team of up to three participants.

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR THE STATE SCIENCE CONGRESS:

(1) Chosen from a Regional Science Congress

(2) If there is no Regional Science Congress in the student’s area, he or she may be sponsored by a local public or private school.

Direct entry sponsored student research must be sent to the State Director by March 31st of the year of the competition. The State Science Congress Committee will make the final decision as to whether the student can compete. All rules and regulations must be followed. 

TEACHER AND ADULT SPONSORS: Every student must have a teacher sponsor in the school where he/she is enrolled. Parents/guardians, friends, or any other adult mentor cannot sponsor the student to our fair. HOWEVER, any qualified adult may act as a research mentor for the student. This adult sponsor is the person who is directly involved with the student and his/her research and may be a parent. The adult sponsor is responsible for the safety of the student at all times.

STANYS SCIENCE CONGRESS SECTION APPROVAL FORM: All participants must submit the official science congress approval form. The safety of the student investigator and human subjects must be carefully monitored by the adult sponsor.

STUDENTS MUST DO ALL WORK: Sponsors may help in planning and advising, but parents, teachers, or friends may not actually design, conduct or build the project. Abuses of this rule will result in disqualification. All students are expected to be able to answer questions regarding the design and development of every phase of their projects. All portions of the abstract and research paper must be the original work of the student.

• PROJECT DISPLAY SET UP: Projects must be presented in a poster-style format (free-standing tri-fold board or storyboard). No electricity can be provided. Wooden boards, live or preserved specimens, and hazardous materials (i.e. toxic chemicals, high intensity light sources) are prohibited. Project displays must adhere to the following guidelines for the maximum size of display:

  o Depth (front to back): 30 inches or 76 centimeters

  o Width (side to side): 48 inches or 122 centimeters

  o Height (floor to top): 108 inches or 274 centimeters

• PHOTOGRAPHS: Photographs pertaining to the project are encouraged!
  
  
• PRESENTATION FORMAT: The State Science Congress will be a poster format. Students must have a free-standing storyboard of their project for the judges to review. Each student will be given time to present to judges and judges will have an opportunity to ask questions. The student’s name should appear on all materials, but the names of schools, research institutions, or sponsors/mentors should not appear anywhere on the materials or in presentations. Acknowledgements or thank you messages should not be included in presentations.
  
  
• JUDGING: All judges will be college or university professors, science teachers, and scientists. They will use a scoring rubric as a guide. A copy of the scoring guide is available on this webpage.
  
  
• STANDARDS: The planning committee of the State Science Congress reserves the right to disqualify any exhibit on the day of the competition for work that is unsuitable in subject matter or treatment, that is potentially dangerous, or that violates any rules of the fair. Projects that lack any of the necessary paperwork or required signatures will be disqualified!
  
  
• RESPONSIBILITY: STANYS and the hosting organization, though taking reasonable precautions in protecting projects, will not be responsible for broken or missing project parts. Student researchers should ensure that their name is on all aspects of their project.
  
  
• REMOVAL OF PROJECTS: All projects must be removed promptly after the public viewing time.