TNRSF RULES
Whom does the TNRSF serve:
Terra Northeastern Regional STEM Fair (TNRSF) serves Akwesasne and the counties of Clinton, Essex, Franklin and St. Lawrence.
Who competes in what?
TNRSF accepts students in grades 5-12 who attend public, private, charter, parochial or home schools. All students compete in either the Junior Division (grades 5-8) or Senior Division (grades 9-12).
Topic Presentation (TOPIC) students in any grade prepare models or informative reports; they collect no data or make no improvements to their models.
* All TOPIC students complete the TerraFairs_Topic and Jr RED Safety and Permission Form.pdf
Research and Engineering Design (RED) students in any grade collect data using the scientific method (Research) or develop a technique, tool or machine with documented repeated tests and improvements (Engineering Design).
* Junior RED students completed the Topic and Jr RED Safety and Permission Form.
* Senior RED students complete ISEF SRC Forms. Use this WIZARD to preview them.
IMPORTANT RULES: Who does the work?
- Students are encouraged to seek help and guidance from adults and from resources such as Science Buddies. However, ALL WORK MUST BE DONE BY THE STUDENT. In those cases in which safety issues preclude a student's using a process or piece of equipment, the adult who completes that portion of the work will be cited, and the BALANCE of the work will be completed by the student.
- If there is any evidence of plagiarism, the student(s) will be immediately removed from the competition. The Director's decision is final.
Early Entry Option:
Students may request early admission to the TNRSF based upon math achievement, not date of birth. How? They will show that their MATH level qualifies them for either 5th or 9th grade, using our Math Placement Tool to document their math achievement level. The sponsoring adult will certify a student's achievement level by emailing the Fair Director.
- Students not yet in 5th grade must correctly answer at least 16 of Questions 1-20 in the Math Placement tool to compete in Junior Division TOPIC or Junior Division RED.
- Students not yet in 9th grade must correctly answer at least 16 of Questions 81-100 in the Math Placement tool to compete in Senior Division RED.
- As TOPIC Presentations are judged as one unit, grade is irrelevant. Only Topic Presenters not yet in 5th grade need submit Math Placement results.
About TNRSEF
Terra Science and Education encourages students and adults to contact the Fair Director for information and support. Educators, parents and other community adults, if you are interested in starting a local fair, consider applying for a Fair Grant. If you wish to support a group of students who want to present at TNRSF, ask about our Fair Fellowships.
Through its network of science and engineering fairs, Terra Science and Education provides middle and high school students the opportunity to engage in authentic scientific research or engineering practice and to share their experiences and findings with others affiliated with the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
Terra Fairs are affiliated with the internationally-known STEM fairs ISEF and GENIUS Olympiad. Terra fully funds selected Finalist projects and students from its affiliated and partner fairs to attend ISEF; it funds all expenses except travel for GENIUS. At both competitions, the students are assured of exceptional international and scientific experiences.
You can find out more about our nonprofit Terra Science and Education here.
Public Viewing / Open House
Families and friends and the amazing students, faculty and staff of Paul Smith's College are encouraged to meet the students and see their project displays between 2:30 and 3:15p on Saturday, March 23rd. Immediately following that, all are invited to the Reception and Awards Ceremony.
What to Expect During the Fair
SAMPLE FAIR DAY SCHEDULE:
Student registration, project set-up; after Display and Safety approval, student activities
Judge sign-in and training
Student activities while judges review projects
Judging
Lunch
Student activities while judges deliberate
Public Viewing
Fair Reception
Keynote address
Awards Ceremony
*TOPIC
ALL TOPIC PRESENTATIONS CHOOSE THIS AS THEIR CATEGORY. This project presents student literature reviews, a STEM topic of interest to the student, or a model to which no improvements have been made.
>>>> NO experiment has been done.
>>>> NO data has been collected.
>>>> NO modifications have been made to any model.
TOPIC Presentations do NOT require SRC/IRB review. They submit a one-page checklist with parent/guardian/teacher signatures.
5th grade
These 5th graders have collected data in an experiment or made successive modifications to improve a machine, model, or software. No data? Just a model with no changes? Register for the TOPIC category.
6th grade
These 6th graders have collected data in an experiment or made successive modifications to improve a machine, model, or software. No data? Just a model with no changes? Register for the TOPIC category.
7th grade
These 7th graders have collected data in an experiment or made successive modifications to improve a machine, model, or software. No data? Just a model with no changes? Register for the TOPIC category.
8th grade
These 8th graders have collected data in an experiment or made successive modifications to improve a machine, model, or software. No data? Just a model with no changes? Register for the TOPIC category.
Behavioral/Cognitive
Behavioral and social sciences
Cognitive science
Environmental
Earth and environmental sciences
Environmental engineering
Life Sciences
Animal sciences
Biochemistry
Cellular and molecular biology
Medical sciences
Microbiology
Plant biology
Mathematical / Computational
Computational systems and analysis
Mathematical sciences
Software
Robotics (software)
Physical Sciences
Aerodynamics/hydrodynamics
Alternative energy
Applied mechanics and structures
Chemistry
Electronics and electromagnetics
Engineering (chemical, electrical, mechanical, process)
Materials science
Physics and astronomy
Robotics (hardware)
Technology enhances the arts
Display Technology
Human Information Exchange
Music and Image Manipulation
Games
3D Modeling
Engineering Effects
Withdrawn
IF A STUDENT WILL NOT BE PARTICIPATING IN JUDGING, the administrators will change their category to "withdrawn" so the data can be retrieved, but judging teams will not be assigned to them.
Detailed information about judging will be provided directly to judges after they register.
Video training is provided and required in advance of Fair Day to simplify preparations on Fair Day itself.
Judging Rubrics Though judging will may be conducted using online tools, this Research and Engineering Design rubric is the framework we will use.