Judging and Awards

Exhibits are judged by qualified scientists from across the Ohio Valley.  There are separate judges for each category in the Junior and Senior Divisions.  In addition, there is a team of judges for determining Grand Prize winners in both the Junior and Senior Divisions.  Category judging begins at 4:30 p.m. on March 8.  Judges are instructed to award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places with an honorable mention as deemed appropriate by entries.  Judges are NOT required to award all prizes in each category, that is, if no projects are deemed worthy of a 1st place, only 2nd, 3rd, and honorable mention may be awarded in that category. Judging criteria can be reviewed by following this link:

http://www.societyforscience.org/isef/judging

Grand Prize Judging occurs on Friday evening, March 8, following regular judging.  Individuals must have earned a 1st or 2nd place in a category to continue on to the Grand Prize round.  Students are notified when judging is completed in their categories whether they are to stay for Grand Prize judging. We make every attempt to release the students as soon as possible. Sometimes Special Award judging takes longer than expected – we ask for your patience during this process to ensure each student is fairly judged.

This year, the Awards Ceremony will be held in College Hall at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 9.  Removal of exhibits is not permitted until after the Awards Ceremony ends.