Submitting Paperwork

In order to ensure students are in compliance with Science Fair rules, it is important for students’ paperwork/documentation to be complete. Student paperwork will be submitted and managed using the STEM Wizard online interface. The MCSF STEM Wizard Registration Guide has detailed instructions for student registration in STEM Wizard. Teachers should register for their teacher account at https://mcsf.stemwizard.com/ before their students begin to register. Once registered, teachers can log in to their accounts to monitor the progress of their student registrations. (Teachers, please do not click “approve” on your students’ Research Plans inside STEM Wizard, this slider is used to show the SRC has approved the research plan.)

Documentation requirements for each School/Institution:

Certificate of Insurance – Columbia Center Mall requires a certificate of insurance from each participating school. A brief instruction document is linked below, along with an example certificate.

Instructions: certificate_of_insurance_2023.pdf

Example Certificate: Common-Area-Certificate-of-Insurance.pdf

Documentation requirements for each project:

(students will enter these into a milestone within their STEM Wizard account).

  1. A complete Research Plan including the following:
    1. Rationale
    2. Hypothesis
    3. Research question
    4. Detailed procedures
    5. Risk and safety
    6. Data analysis (middle schoolers should discuss averages and graphs; high schoolers should also include statistics)
    7. Bibliography (citing at least 5 sources).
  2. ISEF Forms (All projects require the following):
    1. Checklist for Adult Sponsor (Form 1)
    2. Student Checklist (1A)
    3. Approval Form (1B
  3. Project-specific Forms – Some projects will require additional forms. Students will complete the ISEF Rules Wizard the first time they open the Files and Forms milestone in STEM Wizard, which will help identify the ISEF forms required for their project, but this list of forms should be reviewed by the Adult Sponsor and any questions should be directed to the MCSF SRC or IRB. If the research involves humans (including surveys), microbiology, and vertebrate animals then additional forms and pre-approval BEFORE experimentation begins by the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) and Institutional Review Board (IRB) will be required.  If a project requires SRC or IRB pre-approval, students should send an email to SRC or IRB after they’ve entered their research plan and ISEF forms into STEM Wizard to ensure timely review.Examples of additional forms include:
  4. Media Release Form – A media release and ethics form, signed by a parent/guardian, also needs to be uploaded in each student’s Files and Forms milestone in STEM Wizard.

The Process

Students need to create their STEM Wizard accounts and complete the Project Information, Research Plan, and Files and Forms Milestones by February 13, 2024. After completing the ISEF Rules Wizard inside the Files and Forms milestone, students will have a link within their STEM Wizard account to download the ISEF forms required for their project. Students will upload their completed forms into the Files and Forms milestone in the STEM Wizard. If students do not have access to a scanner or scanning app, they can use the STEM Wizard Form Uploader app to submit their forms by taking a photo of them with their mobile device. It is highly recommended that students create their STEM Wizard accounts and complete these milestones well in advance of the due date.

If you or you students need any help with uploading forms, please email registration@midcolumbiasciencefair.org so we can help you out. All research plan and form revisions need to be completed by 9pm February 27, 2024. This is also the deadline for students to complete the Additional Information milestone, which is a series of short answer questions that may qualify their project for certain special awards.

IMPORTANT: Forms must be completed and signed before experimentation begins! Forms may be signed by hand or with a digital signature.  Digital signatures must have a verification system via login and have a time and date stamp to indicate this authentication.

After experimentation, students will complete the Abstract milestone and complete their Project Display for the fair. The Abstract is due by 9pm on March 6, 2023. See the Project Display Information and Rules page for more details about the display. View the MCSF STEM Wizard Registration Guide for detailed instructions on using the STEM Wizard interface.

Payment

The project registration fee is $5 per student. We ask that teachers collect these fees and submit one payment for all their students when they check in at the Fair. Checks or purchase orders are preferred. Individual students may pay their registration fee by check (made out to MCSF) or cash when they check in at the Fair.

If you have questions, please contact us:

For overall fair questions:
Fair Director: Joyce Stark
Sunnyside High School, Sunnyside, WA 98944
(509) 837-2601
director@midcolumbiasciencefair.org

For questions about SRC or IRB review:
MCSF SRC Chair: Theresa Alvarez-Ziegler, Sunnyside HS, Sunnyside WA
src@midcolumbiasciencefair.org

MCSF IRB Chair: Robin Driver, Eisenhower HS, Yakima WA
509-830-7296
irb@midcolumbiasciencefair.org

For questions about student registration in STEM Wizard:
email registration@midcolumbiasciencefair.org.