The following is a description of the judging process
at the North Jersey Regional Science Fair. About two weeks before
the fair, judges receive a packet of information for the fair.
The packet includes the judging assignment, directions to the
school, a list of projects, and the
judging criteria. The judging is
a very critical aspect of the fair, providing positive feedback
and unparalleled scientific interactions for high school students
pursuing their interest in science. We hope you will join us.
Category Judging
Category judging takes place on Friday evening with
judges reporting by 6:30 p.m. for their materials and a briefing.
Project judging is done from 7:00-9:30 p.m. The categories
covered by the science fair are biochemistry, botany, behavioral
science, chemistry, computer science, engineering, earth and space
science, mathematics, microbiology, medicine and health, physics,
water pollution, and zoology. A group of judges and a captain
is assigned to each category. As a category judge, you will only
look at projects in your category. Each judge sees 6-8 projects
with each project seeing a minimum of 3 judges. All project judging
should be completed by 9:30 p.m., at which time the category teams
sit down together and discuss all of the projects. From this discussion,
projects are placed (1st, 2nd, 3rd
, and honorable mention). The category judges also make recommendations
for the ISEF Symposium (see below). When discussions are complete,
each judge writes approximately 2 feedback forms for the students.
The judges are usually finished by 11 p.m.
Special Awards
Judging for special awards takes
place on Saturday with judges reporting by 8:30 a.m. for their
materials and a briefing. Judging is done from 9:00 a.m. till
noon. At noon the special award team meets and discusses the projects
being considered for the award. From the discussion, the projects
are assigned the awards. The judges are usually finished by 1
p.m. The types of special awards vary from being specific science
areas (ex. Ceramic Science Award) to more general awards such
as the Homebuilt Apparatus Award. Some special awards cover the
entire fair. These awards require a team leader willing to come
in on Friday to prescreen the projects in order to better direct
their judging team on Saturday.
ISEF Symposium and Being a Captain
The International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)
Symposium is held Saturday afternoon after the special awards
judging. The symposium is used to determine what students will
be sent to the International Science Fair. All captains from the
category judging make up the panel of judges for the symposium.
The captains meet Saturday morning to go back to the all of the
projects being considered for the symposium and re-evaluate them.
From this they determine what projects advance to the symposium
from the category judging. This symposium is held from 1:00-4:00
p.m. Here each student gives a 8 minute presentation to the judges
and then answers questions. After the symposium, the captains
meet to determine the winners. This usually ends by 5:00 p.m.
Registration Information
When you register, you will specify what categories
and special awards you can judge. Keep in mind when selecting
categories that the level of the projects can be very high (college
level). Also note that some of the special awards are very general
and do not require any specific expertise. You will also specify
whether or not you are willing to be a captain. (Reminder: Being
a captain in the category judging requires you to be at the fair
Friday evening and Saturday 8:30 a.m. till 5:00 p.m.)
Registration
can be done via our website at http:// www.research.att.com/~kbl/njrsf or
by contacting Diana Vengsarkar
by email: neigebor@rci.rutgers.edu .