Are your ready to conduct your research??

STEP 1: PREPARE FOR RESEARCH

Review the ISEF Rules and Guidelines - selected Rules and Regulations can be found at the bottom of this page for quick reference, however, all ISEF Rules and Regulations must be followed for all Honors Division projects.
Use the ISEF Forms Wizard, the Academy of Science Forms Navigation FlowChart or work with your teacher to complete the required ISEF forms.
- If you are completing an Engineering, Experiment, or Invention project, your project will REQUIRE SRC approval.

If you are completing an Experiment using HUMANS, your project will also require IRB Approval.

Submit the applicable forms (as PDFs) for your project to: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScIiDuR6dhObBflF-1kEN42c1Hgg8Jq-7919swVfox5BLEL9g/viewform?usp=dialog

Once you have received all necessary approvals you may move on to STEP 2: Registration.

STEP 2: HONORS DIVISION REGISTRATION

Teachers must register an estimated number of projects BEFORE students can register their own projects. Teacher/ School registration OPENS Nov 3 and CLOSES Jan 16.
- Registration Link can be found here: https://forms.gle/1dGZf4suMXQxtiaQ6
- As apart of Registration, Teachers will receive a district-specific password. Students will need this to register their projects.
Once Teachers have completed regitsration - Students may complete Project Registration. Student Project Registration OPENS Nov 17 and CLOSES Jan 23. .
- Registration Link can be found here: Link will be posted on Nov 17
After completing Project Registration, Students will recieve an email to make a ProjectBoard account (this is where the projects for Round 1 will be uploaded)

Rules and Safety Requirements

As a Society for Science affiliated science fair, all projects must adhere to all rules published by The International Rules for Pre-college Science Research: Guidelines for Science and Engineer Fairs and The Academy of Science – St. Louis Science Fair Honors Division rules listed below.

The purpose of these rules is to:

Protect the rights and welfare of the student scientist
Protect the rights and welfare of any human participant
Ensure adherence to federal regulations
Ensure use of safe laboratory practices
Protect the environment
Determine eligibility for competition in The Academy of Science - St. Louis Science Fair

IMPORTANT:
The parent and teacher supervising should use their best judgment to ensure the safety of the student and any subjects (human or other animals). Parents and teachers assume responsibility for the safety of the student and any test subjects involved in the project. If there a question about the eligibility of a project that the text below does not address, then the rules default to the ISEF rules and guidelines and will require pre-approval by The Academy of Science - St. Louis Scientific Review Committee (SRC).

Please Note: There are limitations on what types of projects can be done in a home environment. Projects involving Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents MUST NOT be conducted in a home environment and there are more strict guidelines for vertebrate animal projects conducted in a school/home/field site.

OTHER SCIENCE FAIRS
Students entering The Academy of Science – St. Louis Science Fair may NOT also enter a Science Fair in a neighboring community. For example, if you enter The Academy of Science – St. Louis Science Fair, you may NOT also compete in the Mastodon Science fair or other science fairs.

# OF PROJECTS
Students may only submit 1 project to The Academy of Science – St. Louis Science Fair Honors Division.

TEAM & CLASS PROJECTS
A maximum of three (3) Academy of Science – St. Louis Science Fair students may work together on any one (1) project. Any award funds that are allocated to a team project will be evenly distributed between teammates.

WORKS CITED/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
Each project is required to have at least 3 sources or works cited. Works Cited must be in APA 7, MLA or Chicago format.

RESEARCH PERIOD
Each project may only cover research done over a maximum of 12 continuous months between May 2025 and Feburary 2026. If this project is a continuation from a previous year you must complete Form 7.

MOLD/BACTERIA/POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS BIOLOGICAL AGENTS (PHBA)
Projects that handle, test, or sample bacteria, mold, fungi, or potentially hazardous biooloogical agents can be submitted with pre-approval by The Academy of Science - St. Louis Scientific Review Committee (SRC). For pre-approval, please complete this Risk Assessment Form to submit your project idea for review. For a list of Mold/Bacteria/PHBA studies that DO NOT require prior Academy SRC approval, CLICK HERE.

You may want to reference pages 15 - 21 (Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents Rules and Hazardous Chemicals, Activities or Devices Rules) of the ISEF International Rules and Guidelines for Affiliated Fairs for information on what is considered a PHBA. If it is determined by the Academy SRC, or if you are aware, your project contains a PHBA, you will be required to fill out a Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents Risk Assessment Form (6A).

HUMAN STUDIES

Projects involving humans will require IRB approval in addition to SRC approval.
Projects studying bullying/depression/anxiety will NOT be allowed.
Instead, student may submit a research literature review paper where students can study RELIABLE DATA. NO SURVEY OR INTERVIEWING of students will be allowed regarding bullying/depression/anxiety. Please Note: Research Literature Review Papers are not appropriate for students entering the Academy's Honors Division, and are not eligible for competition in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair.
No projects allowed that can cause potential harm to humans.
Human subjects (and parents for anyone under age 18) need to sign a Human Informed Consent Form (i.e.,-permission form)
Students with projects involving humans need to include the following in their research plan-
- What procedures are in place for safeguarding confidentiality?
- Describe how you will inform participants about the purpose of the study and what they will be asked to do.
Students with projects involving humans will need to include a sample of their human consent form with their logbook.

ANIMALS
No animals (this includes invertebrates) should be harmed or caused pain. Projects with animals will require SRC approval.

If you have questions, please contact your science teacher or the Academy Science Fair Director.