2025 Vienna Science and Engineering Fair Requirements and Rules

Who Can Participate in the Fair?

All Middle School and High School students from international schools in and around Vienna, plus nearby countries, may register for the Science Fair. Projects will be divided into two categories: Junior Division (Middle School) and Senior division (High School).

If it is a team project, all team members must be from the same division (same school, same grade).

What do the Science Fair Coordinators Expect?

Students should pick a science or engineering project they like, follow the scientific or engineering method, and share what they learn in a report and a project display - just like scientists and engineers do in the real world!

We hope you will see how fun and interesting this can be! You will learn by discovering and building new things yourself, instead of being told by the teacher! Now it is your turn to be the teacher and tell the world about it!

Expect to have disappointments, setbacks, tough questions and judging, but we know you can handle these.

Science Fair schedule

Divisions

Projects will be split into categories in two divisions based on grade level:

• Junior division: grades 6 through 8 (approximate ages 12 to 14)
• Senior division: grades 9 to 12 (approximate ages 15 to 18)

If it is a team project, all members of the team must be in the same division. Each division will be judged separately.

Categories

Projects will be divided into different categories for each division, as shown below. Students should choose a category for their project when they register, if possible. We also accept projects that do not fit into a category.

Keep in mind that the Science Fair officials may change the categories depending on the number of entries received in a category or their content.

Prizes will be given for the best project in each category and division (Junior and Senior). Other awards and prizes will be given at the discretion of the judges.

What Should be Included in my Report?

A report is required for each project. The report should be less than 10,000 words and submitted as a PDF (Under 100MB). The report should preferably be written in English. Reports may be submitted in French, German, Japanese or Russian, if they are accompanied by a summary in English.

The report should include:

• title page
• table of contents
• abstract
• description of activities
• results and conclusions
• bibliography (list of sources)

When finished, upload the report to a file sharing site (ex. Google Drive, Dropbox, Mega, etc.). Then, provide the share-link when you submit your project. Make sure the file can be opened by anyone with the link. If we cannot open or read the file, we will contact you.

Other documents for the project (notebooks, photographs, working papers, apps) may be added as well, but the main focus will be on the report. Important, any other file (besides the project) that cannot be opened or read by the judge committee will be ignored.

What Should be Included in my Display?

Your display is an important part of your project and should clearly show your work. We recommend that your display includes:

• Project Title
• Introduction: Briefly explain what your project is about and why it's important.
• Hypothesis or Problem: What were you trying to find out or solve?
• Methods/Procedure: How did you conduct your experiment or design your project?
• Results: Show the data or findings from your project (charts, graphs, photos, etc.).
• Conclusion: Summarize what your results mean and whether they match your hypothesis.
• Acknowledgments: Mention anyone who helped you with your project.
• References: List any books, websites, or articles you used for your project.

Be creative! This is your chance to showcase your project and what you learned. For inspiration, check out the 2024 Science Fair video to see past displays. Remember, your display is like a mini-presentation of your project!

Who can Help with the Project?

The project must be done by the team members only. Students may get help or advice from others, but they must do the work by themselves.

Students cannot repeat a project from a past science fair. However, students can build on work from a previous Science Fair project if noted when registering.

How do I Register a Project for the Science Fair?

Students who want to participate in the Science Fair MUST register their project by the deadline listed in the schedule above. The registration form can be found on the Registration page.

A project may have up to three team members. A student may enter only one project or be part of only one team.

How do I Submit my Project?

Students will submit their report by uploading the report PDF onto a shared drive, and providing the share link before the deadline listed in the schedule above.

Special Restrictions

Projects that involve human subjects, vertebrate animals, pathogenic agents, controlled substances, hazardous chemicals or devices, human/animal tissue or recombinant DNA must be approved by a Science Review Committee. These projects must be identified during registration.

The following are NOT allowed to be displayed at the fair:

• No live animals, preserved vertebrate animals or parts, including embryos
• No photos or drawings of surgical techniques, dissection, autopsies, or
other laboratory techniques with vertebrate animals in abnormal conditions may be displayed.
• No human body parts except hair, teeth, or nails.
• No projects involving illegal or controlled substances are allowed.

How will Judging Work?

Science Fair participants will need to set up their project display the day before the event, or, if absolutely necessary, on the day of the event before 09:30. Details will be provided to teachers ahead of time.

On the day of the event, students will be interviewed by the Science Fair judges in the morning. Each interview will be in English and last 10-15 minutes. The judges will already have reviewed the projects prior and will ask students to further describe and explain the project and may ask clarifying questions.

If a student needs a language other than English (e.g. French, German, Japanese or Russian), the Science Fair will try to provide a judge or interpreter who speaks the requested language.

Judging will be done by science and engineering professionals from Vienna's international community.

How will the Awards be Given Out?

After the interviews, the judges will decide the rating for each project: Superior (yellow ribbon), Excellent (blue ribbon), or Honourable Mention (red ribbon). There will also be special awards: Best of category; Best of Junior and Senior Divisions, plus other awards to recognize projects of special merit.

In the afternoon, the Science Fair display area will be open to the public. Each project will receive a Certificate of Participation and ribbon before the opening to the public.

At the end of the day, an Awards Reception will be held for all participants, their parents, teachers, judges, and organizers. At that time, the award winners will be announced, and the full list of awards shared.

Publication

The Science Fair organizers reserve the right to publish part or all the project reports and pictures taken as part of the Science Fair.