Registration information

‌Please read the registration notes carefully. Students / schools have until Friday, March 17, 2023 at 4:00 pm to register projects for the Fraser Valley Regional Science Fair. As such, please ensure that school science fairs are held early enough to allow sufficient time to identify and register those projects which will be moving on to the regional fair. If you are submitting payment by cheque, please ensure that your completed application and registration fee are recevied on or before the deadline.

Follow the Registration Process below to register for FVRSF 2023!

Eligibility Criteria ♦ Registration Process ♦ Rules and Regulations

Eligibility Criteria

Take a look at this checklist to make sure that you're eligible to compete at the Fraser Valley Regional Science Fair (FVRSF).

1. Have a project idea.
2. The project is the work of one or two students from start to completion. For the younger grades (ex. Grades K – 3) teachers may decide to submit a class project.
3. Be in grades K to 12, as indicated in the BC Ministry Form 1701 at the start of the school year.
4. Be registered in a public, private or independent school, or may receive home instruction (home schooling) in the following areas or school districts. See the highlighted areas on the map below.
   
   • Chilliwack (33)
   • Abbotsford (34)
   • Langley (35)
   • Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows (42)
   • Mission (75)
   • Fraser-Cascade (78)
5. The project complies with or will comply with all FVRSF rules governing ethical research and safety.
6. You have been selected to advance from a school or district science fair competition, where applicable.

Registraton Process

We have implemented a new online portal for registration through Youth Science Canada (YSC). There are three steps to registration and submission.

Before you begin, if your project idea involves the participation of humans or the use of animals, familiarize yourself with the safety and ethics information on mySTEMspace.ca, and read the applicable YSC safety and ethics policies.

If you need advice or a ruling from the Ethics Committee, please complete this form and email to FVRSF@ufv.ca for a ruling.

Please note that the Fraser Valley Regional Science Fair is an in-person event, so only the ‘Project Summary’ piece in Step 2 will need to be completed at the regional level. However, you may wish to complete all of the grids (Video, Why?, How?, What?, etc.) as it may assist you in organizing your project and thoughts. Be advised that we still require a poster board at regionals to be displayed.

If you are in Grade 7-12 and are selected to advance to the Canada Wide Science Fair, the full grid will need to be completed but this can be completed after regionals if you are selected. Members from the FVRSF Committee will assist you in getting ready for nationals.

‘How To’ video links are included on the registration page to help with the process: https://youthscience.ca/fraser-valley/

• Step 1: Create a YSC Portal Account
• Step 2: Create your project on ProjectBoard
  After creating an account (Step 1) we require at least the Summary section be completed on ProjectBoard.
• Step 3: Submit your project to the FVRSF
  After creating an account (Step 1) and creating your summary on ProjectBoard (Step 2), you are now ready to submit it to the FVRSF

Once your project is submitted, the registration fee will be due. The fee is $30 per student; $60 for a 2-person project; a single project submitted by a class is $75. Payment can be made by cash or cheque made payable to the University of the Fraser Valley; or by credit card either in person or over the phone to 604-504-7441 ext. 4825.

Rules and Regulations

Registration

• A completed application to the Fraser Valley Regional Science Fair (FVRSF) does not imply acceptance to participate.
• Registration consent required for students under 13 years of age.
• Acceptance to the Fraser Valley Regional Science Fair is dependent on a valid completed application, space limitations, and allocation limits. Acceptance is at the discretion of the FVRSF Committee.
• Decisions of the FVRSF Committee, based on recommendations of the Chief Judge(s), are final and not subject to appeal.
• Applicants NOT accepted to participate at the FVRSF will be informed by email in late March and payment may be returned.
• Refund of payment may not be possible for withdrawal from participation after acceptance.
• If one of the students in a pair project lives or attends a school belonging to a different Regional Science Fair, the students must select a single Regional Science Fair to apply to.
• If the students in a pair project are from different age categories, then they shall register the project in the age category of the older student.
• Participants MUST be from the Fraser Valley Region to participate in our science fair.

Projects

• The project shall only be the work of one or two students from start to completion. Projects and work done by more than two students at any point in the project’s development are not permitted.
• A project worked on at any point by two students cannot register as a single person project.
• A participant may not present more than one project each year, and may not display or reuse an identical project from a previous Regional Science Fair.
• A project presented at any Regional Science Fair in the past may not be presented again unless there is a substantial expansion or extension of the previous investigation or design process. The project must only present work completed since the previous Regional Science Fair, though previous work may be referenced.
• Students must follow the Safety Rules.
• Students must follow the Ethics Standards.
• Ethics Pre-Approval is mandatory for all projects using animal and human participants.

Student Expectations

• Participating students are expected to be in attendance for their entire judging period. Participants competing from Grades 7-12 are to be in attendance from 1:00 - 5:00 pm on judging day. Participants competing from Grades K-6 are required to be in attendance during their Judging time (3:30 - 5:00 pm). Partial or skipped attendance may result in the reduction or loss of eligibility for awards. *PLEASE NOTE: Only participants, judges and science fair volunteers will be allowed in the gym during judging.
• The judging criteria for two-person projects require effective communication from both students during the presentation.
• Student participants are in representation of their respective schools and therefore expectations from their school may apply at the FVRSF.