Judging the number and quality of projects represented at the Connecticut Science Fair is a challenging and demanding task. Judges are drawn from a wide range of technical disciplines representing the highest professional levels of schools and colleges, industry, technical societies and scientific government agencies. Recent senior science fair alumni are enlisted as judges to take advantage of their unique perspective. Every effort is made to ensure that each project receives due consideration.
Preliminary & Finalist Judging
Judging at the CSF is conducted in two rounds. Preliminary judging takes place on Wednesday and is the most important hurdle to overcome. Preliminary judging is based solely on the materials presented in the display including notebooks and reports. No students are present at preliminary judging. Special awards are also judged on this day. This is why the project display and research report are very important!
Projects selected as finalists, these are projects that are first honors, will also be judged a second time for finalist judging. During final judging, the students will have the opportunity to discuss their work with the judges. Judges may view the projects individually or as a small group. The results from preliminary judging do not carry over to finalist judging. Some of the judges at finalist judging will be seeing the projects for the first time.
How many judges will see my project?
Each awards category is judged by its own judging panel. Because of this, the number of judges examining each project can vary greatly. If the project is seen by only the regular fair awards judges (and this would be an exceptional case) eight judges would view the work.
Usually, the project is of interest to several groups. For example, a project addressing the use of garbage as a source of energy and making heavy use of mathematical techniques and computers; could be judged by the applied technology, environmental, energy, mathematics, sustainability and computer science judging panels in addition to the fair’s regular physical awards category and the special awards.
Major Category Award Judging
All projects are judged using the following standard criteria on a 100 point scale:
- Scientific Thought/Engineering Goals
Individual 30 percent - Team 25 percent
The exhibit should show evidence of application of scientific thought or engineering development. It may present a verification of laws, explain a cause and effect or present by models, charts, diagrams or other methods; a better understanding of scientific facts or engineering principles. Consideration will be given to the amount of preparation and effort which is represented in the project. - Creative Ability
Individual 30 percent – Team 25 percent
The exhibit should show originality of approach or handling. Ingenuity in use of available materials is desirable. - Thoroughness
Individual 15 percent – Team 12 percent
The exhibit should display completeness of the project within the scope of the problems, including literature background, awareness of theoretical basis, nature of observations and handling of data. - Skill
Individual 15 percent – Team 12 percent
The exhibit should show the scientific or engineering skills exercised by the student in performing the project. Displays of collections should show skill in handling, preparation, mounting or other treatment. - Clarity
Individual 10 percent – Team 10 percent
The exhibit should be presented in a way that is clearly understandable to the viewer. Labels and descriptions should be presented neatly, yet briefly. Problem, approach, data obtained, and conclusions drawn including finalist’s
presentation should be presented clearly. - Teamwork
Individual- not applicable – Team 16 percent
How well the team organized its work and balanced the work among team members.
A printable judging sheet with detailed breakdown of the criteria: Detailed Breakdown of Criteria
Special Award Category Judging
Because of the specific subject emphasis of the special awards, the judging criteria for the special awards are defined by the sponsoring organization. Judging for special awards is carried out separately, and involves judges familiar with, or drawn from, the sponsoring organization. The subject emphasis, different criteria, and separate judging, result in the presentation of special awards to a wide range of projects from all major fair categories. A ribbon marked “special award” placed on the project indicates that it will receive a special award at the Awards Ceremonies on Saturday afternoon.
