For Junior Division (Grades 4-8)

Categories

Decide what type of project you are doing. Click this link to see the types of projects you can enter in NEIRSEF.

Safety

It is important that your pursuit of science be safe for all involved. For this reason, there are guidelines for students to follow at each level.

Students in grades 4-8 do NOT submit ISEF paperwork. The expectation is that your teachers will provide you the rules for a safe and acceptable research project. Middle schools teachers and fair coordinators are responsible for making sure you follow the rules. They will use the Rules for Indiana Elementary and Middle School Science Research to do this (Note: this link is to the 2016-2017 edition... a new one may be issued soon). See p. 4 of the document for more on prohibited and restricted research.

Bacterial Studies

No students in grades 4 or 5 can be accepted for entry to an Indiana Regional Fair, per State Fair rules.

Students in grades 6-8 may conduct bacterial studies ONLY if their teacher has been trained and certified for BSL-1 work. Contact the Fair director (perkinsm@ipfw.edu or (260)481-6516) to discuss this further.

Prohibited

• Radioactive substances
• Hazardous chemicals or reagents
• Biological agent experiments conducted at home
• Vertebrate animal research involving pain or withholding of food or water
• Class IV lasers

Informed Consent

If your research project involves human subjects, including any experiments on yourself, you must have each participant complete an Informed Consent form. A sample can be found on the ISEF web site. Your teacher may already have a sample for you to use in your study. Informed consent forms must include:

• Purpose of the project
• What the person in the study (the "subject") will be asked to do
• An adult's name and phone or email (usually a teacher) who a parent can contact with furtherquestions
• A place for the subject to sign and date
• A place for the subject's parent or guardian to sign (if the subject is under 18)

Display Rules

The NEIRSEF display rules must be followed by all exhibitors at the regional fair, regardless of the rules used at the student's local fair. Fair personnel will inspect all exhibits for compliance with these rules and any non-conforming items must be removed from the display. For a full description of official display rules, review the ISEF Display and Safety Regulations.

Important Dates for the 2018 Fair

August 28, 2017
- Teacher Registration opens. Register at http://www.sefi.org/register/

February 16, 2018
- Teacher Registration deadline
- Student project registration deadline
 Register only the students who are advancing to NEIRSEF
   (All Divisions) On the SEFI web site, include: address, phone, grade, date of birth, project title, and category.
   Check the box to indicate whether your display needs electricity. Gender and ethnicity is optional but requested.
   (Junior Division - 6th-8th) In addition to the items above, complete the research plan and abstract

February 23, 2018
- Deadline for payment of Fair project registration fees. Payment details TBD.

March 3, 2018
- Date of the 2018 Regional Fair (NEIRSEF)

March 24, 2018
- Hoosier Science and Engineering Fair, Indianapolis, IN