ANNOUNCEMENTS



The Awards Ceremony for the Region VI SEF held at UL-Lafayette on February 24, 2024 will be Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) Center in the auditorium. The time is from 5:30-7:00. Look for the big green egg across from the CajunDome.
To start a new project, click on "DIRECTIONS" under "LABELS" and the post will walk you through what to do to start a new project.

If you want to see an overview of previously disqualified projects and the reasons why, click on "DISQUALIFICATIONS" and read the post.

If you need an updated ABSTRACT FORM, RESEARCH PLAN, ENTRY FORM, LOUISIANA REGION VI RULES, or ITEMS NOT ALLOWED, simply scroll down the page and find the document you need. Once there, click on the highlighted link (in red) and you will visit another webpage which will allow you to view or download the document. Also, you can find the document you want under "LABELS" down the right side of the page.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

DIRECTIONS FOR STARTING A NEW PROJECT

The first thing a student should do before starting a new project is run through the "RULES WIZARD" found in the "LINKS" column to the right.

If a student plans on doing a project that has the potential to violate the rules set forth by the Society for Science, the "RULES WIZARD" will indicate these problems.

EVERY project needs the following forms : 1, 1A, 1B, Abstract on the Abstract form, and a Research Plan. To participate in the Region VI Science & Engineering Fair, an Entry Form needs to be filled out for each project. Team projects must have a form 1B for EACH member. Any additional forms identified by the "RULES WIZARD" need to be filled out also. ALL FORMS MUST BE FILLED OUT PRIOR TO ANY EXPERIMENTATION. The approval date on Form 1B must be BEFORE the experiment start date on Form 1A. If the experiment start date on Form 1A is before the approval date on Form 1B, then it shows the experiment started before it was actually approved. The rules are set up to make sure that young people don't injure themselves, or other people or animals, so Form 1B should always be the first one filled out. Please do not ask us to post-date signatures or fax us paperwork at the last minute. If the forms are done properly beforehand, then the student will be cleared for competition at the SCHOOL, PARISH, REGIONAL, STATE, and INTERNATIONAL competitions. The forms are available using the "DOCUMENTS" link, which directs one to the Society for Science website. The Abstract Form, Entry Form, Region VI Rules are all available on the Region VI website.

On this point we ask all parents and teachers and coordinators to please assist the students.

It is definitely best for the student to type in all the information on the forms found in the "DOCUMENTS" link to the right, and then print the forms out. It looks much neater and more professional. Then the signatures can be obtained.

Please follow the directions closely. If there are any questions, email me at scottie@louisiana.edu or scottiesorrell@gmail.com .

Sunday, April 11, 2010

MOST COMMON REASONS FOR DISQUALIFICATIONS

The Science Fair Committee at UL-Lafayette is asked to enforce the rules established by the Intel-sponsored Society for Science. We do not enjoy disqualifying projects from students because our sole purpose in organizing our regional Science Fair is to promote math and science education among our young people in our state and region.

But the following describes projects that have been disqualified for rules violations and students ought to avoid these pitfalls :

1. Incomplete paperwork

All projects need forms 1, 1A, 1B, Abstract (on the proper form) and a Research Plan. Under "LINKS" one may click on "DOCUMENTS" and obtain all of the ISEF Science Fair forms, with the exception of the Abstract Form and the Research Plan, both of which can be found under "LABELS". Click on "ABSTRACT FORM" or "RESEARCH PLAN" and you can download those documents. Please read the directions. In addition, projects that involve human subjects, vertebrate animals, potentially hazardous biological or chemical substances, like molds or acids, need additional forms. To ensure that the students have the proper paperwork, we recommend ALL students to use the RULES WIZARD. The date on Form 1B MUST BE BEFORE the experiment start date on FORM 1A, so 1B should be the first form filled out.

2. Not testing in approved labs. Projects involving mold and certain chemicals must be done in approved labs and if they are done in the home these projects will be disqualified.

3. Harming vertebrate animals (which includes fish) in the course of doing a project will likely result in a disqualification. The rules state that only a momentary application of pain is acceptable. Our committee deliberates on what is momentary. Even if a veterinarian signs off on the experiment, the project must still withstand the rules underlying Science Fair participation, and most vets are not familiar with these specific rules.

4. Not obtaining the proper signatures on the forms. All of the signatures and all of the forms must be completed PRIOR to any experiment being performed. In the past teachers and parents and students have scrambled around at the last moment trying to retroactively obtain signatures needed for certain forms. We will NOT be honoring post-dated paperwork anymore. If paperwork is not completed and forms are not signed, the projects will be disqualified and the $10 entry fee will be forfeit.

5. Human Subject Forms sometime need also the Informed Consent forms for participants in surveys, but it all depends on the nature of the project. So in doing the RULES WIZARD before you start any experiment you will know exactly what forms are needed.