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Judging: A Positive Experience
The success or failure of any science and engineering fair depends to a large extent upon the quality of the judging. It is, therefore, vitally important for each judge to understand thoroughly the duties and obligations of judging.
A science and engineering fair is a competition based on the quality of projects done by students, the results of which are presented through exhibits at the fair.
The purpose of a fair is threefold:
- To stimulate in young people an active interest in science and engineering
- To provide an educational experience through being exposed to the judges and to the public
- To give public recognition to talented students for the work that they have done
Fairs range in scope from the local level, which may involve one class, one school, or one district, to ones which may involve a large city, a county, a state or even a nation. Science and engineering fairs operate on a step basis, with students who have won in small fairs participating in larger fairs as representatives of the fairs in which they have previously won. Thus, an individual might participate in a local fair, move on to a city fair, then to a regional fair and there be chosen to represent that fair in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
