EPSEF - Eastern Panhandle Science and Engineering Fair
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2023 Jefferson County Science and Engineering Fair


 
Date/Time
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Doors open at 9:00 AM
Location
Jefferson High School
4141 Flowing Springs Road
Shenandoah Junction, WV 25442
Agenda
All times approximate
9:00 to 9:45 AM - Check-In and Project Setup (cafeteria)
10:00 AM - Opening Remarks (auditorium)
10:15 AM - Project Presentations and Judging
11:30 PM - Exhibit Hall Open for Public Viewing 
12:00 PM - Awards Ceremony
12:15 PM - Project Removal and Clean-Up
 
Projects not removed by 12:30 PM will be "recycled."
Eligibility
Students in grades 3 though 12 who attend school in Jefferson County, WV and who earned 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place awards in their respective school science fairs.
 
Home school students who reside in Jefferson County are also eligible to participate. 
Rules in Brief
The Jefferson County Science Fair adheres to the International Rules for Pre-College Science Research, the official rules of the Regeneron ISEF (for high school students) and Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge (for middle school students), as applicable.
 
Students and parents are also advised of the rules of the West Virginia Science and Engineering Fair as well.
 
The purpose of these rules is to:
  • protect the rights and welfare of the student researcher and all human participants
  • protect the health and welfare of animals
  • ensure adherence to local, state, and federal regulations
  • ensure use of safe laboratory practices
  • protect the environment
  • determine eligibility for competition in Society-affiliated fairs
  • to ensure the safety and well-being of fair visitors
Projects will be inspected for potential Display and Safety (D&S) violations prior to judging. Without further notice to the participant, the D&S Inspector may remove or obscure any prohibited items on display and make safe any potentially hazardous condition.  Where necessary, the D&S Inspector will make a reasonable attempt to work with particiapants to correct any serious violations.  Projects with unresolved violations after commencement of judging will not be eligible to compete in subsequent Society-affiliated fairs.
 
The D&S inspector most commonly encounters violations of the following rules:
  • Absolutely NO liquids, not even water
  • No chemicals, food, grocery items, spices, or edible items
  • No plants, fruits, seeds, soil, sand, rock, or cement
  • No glass (no jars, containers, light bulbs, aquariums, etc; tablets/laptops are allowed)
  • No exposed sharp objects, pinch points, electrical wires, or other potential hazards 
  • No insects, animals, body parts or fluids, bacteria, etc (living or once living)
  • No items that may have contained or been in contact with hazardous substances
  • No lasers, bright lights, flames, loud noises, odors, or other distractions
  • No personal information (name, school, grade, web address, phone number, etc) 
  • No active internet connections
Participants are encouraged to display photographs of their work.  Photographs are usually an excellent alternative way to display otherwise banned items.  Remember that photos should not include any human faces, animals in distress, or potentially offensive images.
 
This is only a summary list of common violations.  Participants are strongly encouraged to carefully review the complete Display and Safety Rules in advance of fair participation.  Questions should be directed to the student's science teacher or the SRC.
Ethics Statement
Student researchers are expected to maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity.  Scientific fraud and misconduct are not condoned at any level of research or competition. This includes plagiarism, forgery, use or presentation of other researcher’s work as one’s own and fabrication of data. Fraudulent projects will fail to qualify for competition in affiliated fairs and the Regeneron ISEF. The Scientific Review Commitee reserves the right to revoke recognition of a project subsequently found to have been fraudulent.
Categories
The Jefferson County Science and Engineering Fair uses the same categories as EPSEF, WVSEF, and Regeneron ISEF.  Please note, the Fair Director reserves the right to change a project's category placement or combine categories with an insufficient number of entrants.
 
Elementary Categories:
  • Animal Science
  • Behavioral and Social Science
  • Chemistry
  • Earth and Environmental Science
  • Energy
  • Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Plant Science
  • Physics and Astronomy
  • Technology
Middle School Categories:
  • Animal Science
  • Behavioral and Social Science
  • Chemistry
  • Earth and Environmental Science
  • Energy
  • Engineering
  • Materials Science
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Science
  • Plant Science
  • Physics and Astronomy
  • Technology
High School Categories:
  • Animal Sciences (ANIM)
  • Behavioral and Social Sciences (BEHA)
  • Biochemistry (BCHM)
  • Biomedical and Health Sciences (BMED)
  • Biomedical Engineering (ENBM)
  • Cellular and Molecular Biology (CELL)
  • Chemistry (CHEM)
  • Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (CBIO)
  • Earth and Environmental Sciences (EAEV)
  • Embedded Systems (EBED)
  • Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design (EGSD)
  • Engineering Technology: Statics and Dynamics (ETSD)
  • Environmental Engineering (ENEV)
  • Materials Science (MATS)
  • Mathematics (MATH)
  • Microbiology (MCRO)
  • Physics and Astronomy (PHYS)
  • Plant Sciences (PLNT)
  • Robotics and Intelligent Machines (ROBO)
  • Systems Software (SOFT)
  • Translational Medical Science (TMED)
How to Enter
Students who earned 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place awards in their school fairs are automatically registered by their science teacher or school science fair coordinator.
 
Schools that did not host a science fair may still enter up to three projects per category. 
 
Parents of Home School students please email d.price@k12.wv.us for assistance.
Forms
2023 Jefferson County Science Fair Application for Entry
2023 Jefferson County Science Fair Letter to Students
Judges and Volunteers
The Science Fair can only be made possible with a small army of volunteers.  If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering to help with the Science Fair, please complete this form.  Thank you!
 

 -- Updated 1/5/2023 SP