Information for
Students & Parents

Fair Participation Information

Students participating in the fair have put in a lot of hard work on their projects. It is important to make sure that all of the requirements of the San Mateo County STEM Fair have also been met. The Fair tries its best to align its requirements with that of the State Science Fair and national fairs such as the Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge. Please look over the requirements and tips below to make sure your are ready for the fair.

Important Information for the 2025 STEM Fair

• The 2025 San Mateo County STEM Fair will be held virtually!
• The San Mateo County STEM Fair is for students in grades 5-8.
• High school students will not participate in the 2025 San Mateo County STEM Fair.

  • The Alameda County Science and Engineering Fair will act as students local STEM Fair, and provide them with access to the California Science and Engineering Fair and International Science and Engineering Fair.
• All students grades 5-8 will submit projects using one of the following Google Slides templates:

  • For Engineering projects: Copy Engineering Project Template
  • For all other projects: Copy Experimental Project Template

  Students will be automatically forced to make a copy of the template.

• All judging will take place virtually via Zoom, and judges will use your slide deck, in lieu of a tri-fold project board, to judge your project.
• All 6th - 8th grade students who are selected for the interview phase will be notified on March 10, 2025. 5th grade students will not participate in the virtual Fair as this is their initial foray into the STEM Fair world. 5th grade students will receive feedback on their project that will further prepare them for their full participation in grades 6th - 8th.

Project Requirements

Students must follow the directions and guidelines below to participate in the fair.

Required Forms for Human Subjects or Biological Experiments

SRC Form
Submit forms for approval by December 13, 2024, for students of schools who are not hosting a STEM Fair.
Schools that host their own STEM Fair may set their own submission deadline.

The Scientific Review Committee (SRC) form must be completed by any student, grades 5 through 8, whose project involves (even if only observing or surveying) human subjects, invertebrate or non-human vertebrate animals, recombinant DNA, tissues, pathogenic agents, or controlled substances. This document should be submitted BEFORE the investigation has begun.

Students who attend schools that host their own STEM Fairs will submit the form to their school’s Scientific Review Committee for approval. If their projects are advanced to the San Mateo County STEM Fair, San Mateo County will require proof of the school’s SRC approval upon submission to the Fair.

Students who attend schools that DO NOT host their own STEM Fairs are REQUIRED to submit an SRC to the San Mateo County STEM Fair for approval prior to December 13, 2024 using the link below. If you have questions regarding the SRC form, please contact Robin K. Pang-Maganaris.

SRC Guidelines and forms for the SF Bay Area Science Fair can be found at the ISEF Forms website.

Download Scientific Review Committee Form Submit SRC Form

Informed Consent Form

The Informed Consent Form is required for EACH human subject involved in a student's science project. These forms do not need to be turned in to the San Mateo County Office of Education STEM Fair. They should be kept by the student researcher unless they are requested by the SRC.

Informed Consent Form

Project Submission Guidelines and Template

Presentation Template
Replaces Project Board

This year students will submit a Google Slides presentation instead of a project board. SMCOE has developed templates that participants must use for submitting thier project. Detailed instructions as to what project information and materials should included can be found in the slides. Please follow directions carefully. You will be prompted to make a copy of the slides.

For all students in grades 5-8 who are entering an experimental project (not in the Engineering category)

Copy Experimental Project Template

For all students in grades 5-8 who are entering a project in the Engineering category

Copy Engineering Project Template

Project Registration

Registration Overview

The opportunity to participate in the San Mateo County STEM Fair is granted by individual schools and districts. All student registrations will require a unique access code provided by a school/district demonstrating that permission has been granted. If you do not have an authorization code, please do not submit your project and see your school to obtain the code.

Project registration will begin January 13, 2025 and will close on February 19, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. Please note that the February 19th deadline is a hard deadline. No extensions will be given to students so please plan ahead.

Students will provide their project slides as a PDF document and a phone number where they can be reached on the day of interviews in the event of technical issues with Zoom.

Students will not know their interview time until a few days before the STEM Fair. Students should plan to have the entire day free as there will be minimal opportunity to change assigned interview times.

Registration opens January 16, 2025.

Project Categories

The San Mateo County STEM Fair project categories are aligned to the four Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) from the Next Generation Science Standards. They are also compatible with San Francisco Bay Area Science Fair categories and the California State Science Fair categories.

Each Disciplinary Core Idea has one or more STEM Fair Categories. Each category has a brief description and Examples of project titles. Please note that it is the teachers' responsibility to determine the appropriate category for each students project. However, the fair director has the discretionary right to re-classify projects if they are not categorized correctly.