We are looking forward to seeing your students’ projects at the Columbia Center Mall on March 7!  Here are some important updates and reminders about this year’s fair:

Project Review: The SRC is working to review projects and will send messages to students if they need to make corrections to their Research Plans or Forms before they can be approved.  Please encourage your students to complete these corrections promptly so their projects can be approved.  Let us know if you have any questions or need help uploading forms.  Students can upload corrected forms into their STEM Wizard accounts, or email them to “registration@midcolumbiasciencefair.org“.  The deadline for completing any corrections requested by the SRC is Tuesday, February 27.  You and your students can see which forms have been approved inside your STEM Wizard accounts.

Certificate of Insurance: All schools need to have a current Certificate of Insurance on file at the Columbia Center Mall.  Certificates should be sent to Kelly Odland at kodland@simon.com.  More instructions and an example certificate are at: https://midcolumbiasciencefair.org/teachers/teachers-documentation/

Interpreters: If you have ESL students, you may bring support staff from your school to Interpret for these students during the Judge Interviews. Display boards must be in English. Email judging@midcolumbiasciencefair.org by March 5 with the names of students who will be receiving interpreting services and the names of the interpreters.

Project Display Information: Please make sure your students are aware of the rules for their project display: https://midcolumbiasciencefair.org/project-display-information/  No active internet or email connections are allowed as part of the project display.  

Additional Information Milestone: The deadline for students to complete the “Additional Information” milestone is February 27.  This milestone has some short questions that may qualify projects for certain special awards.

Payment: The participation fee of $5 per student will be collected when you check in at the fair.  We ask that teachers who are bringing a group of students collect payment for all their students and then submit one single payment at fair check-in.  Payment by Purchase Order or Check is highly preferred. Payment may be made by check, PO, or cash.

Stipends: MCSF has stipends available to help defray travel and/or substitute teacher expenses.  One $50 stipend is available per school.  If you are interested, email fair director Joyce Stark at: joyce.stark@sunnysideschools.org.  Include your school’s mailing address.  Checks will be payable to the school and sent after the fair.

Schedule: The general fair schedule is at: https://midcolumbiasciencefair.org/students/schedule/  Lunch breaks are staggered by division to avoid crowding in the food court.

WSSEF: Students who participate in the Mid-Columbia Science and Engineering Fair are also eligible to participate in the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair (WSSEF).  We’ll send more information about WSSEF in early March and will open up a new milestone then where students can indicate if they want to participate at WSSEF.  

SRC Updates: We’ve received an update from the State-level SRC that if a student’s project uses a hot plate or involves boiling water, the student should mention this in their Research Plan safety section and include a Form 3 (risk assessment form).  Safety precautions should include: eye protection, using gloves to lift the hot container, non-flammable table, not filling container near top, no headphones/earbuds while working in the lab, knowing where fire extinguisher is and how to use it, and not leaving hot plate unattended.

Teachers interested in learning about the 2024 Mid-Columbia Regional Science and Engineering Fair are invited to attend a Zoom meeting on Thursday, November 30 from 7-8pm. During this meeting, the Fair Director and SRC and IRB Chairs will give an overview of the fair, explain the process for student registration & answer questions about the SRC and IRB review process. The meeting will be recorded and posted on the MCSF website.

Please register for a teacher account at: https://mcsf.stemwizard.com/ or send an email to registration@midcolumbiasciencefair.org to be added to the contact list for this meeting. We will send the Zoom link by email a few days before the meeting.