To be eligible to compete in the Central Kentucky Regional Science and Engineering Fair, students must reside in the following counties: Adair, Bell, Bourbon, Casey, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Estill, Fayette, Franklin, Garrard, Harlan, Jackson, Jessamine, Knox, Laurel, Lincoln, Madison, McCreary, Montgomery, Powell, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Scott, Wayne, Whitley, Woodford.
If you are from a county that is not listed but are looking for a regional fair to participate in, please contact the Fair Director, Elizabeth Pelphrey at [email protected]
Note: If a County Fair is in place, then only the projects that placed in their category at that fair are eligible to advance to the Regional Fair.
Students can be enrolled in a public, private, or parochial school and participate.
If you are from a county that is not listed but are looking for a regional fair to participate in, please contact the Fair Director, Elizabeth Pelphrey at [email protected]
Note: If a County Fair is in place, then only the projects that placed in their category at that fair are eligible to advance to the Regional Fair.
Students can be enrolled in a public, private, or parochial school and participate.
Rules Governing Regional Fair
Due to its ISEF affiliation, the Central Kentucky Regional Science and Engineering Fair follow all published ISEF Rules and Regulations for the project as well as the in-person physical display.
The eligibility rules include:
Approval and Documentation:
Note: Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse. Be sure to review the complete set of rules published by the Society For Science: Rules for All Projects
Note: A complete listing of the 2023 Rules and Guidelines broken down based on category is posted by the Society For Science: 2024 Rules and Guidelines
Access fillable forms: ISEF Forms
The eligibility rules include:
- Each student is only allowed to enter one project. That project may include no more than 12 months of continuous research and may not include research performed before January 2023.
- Team projects must have no more than 3 members.
- Projects that are demonstrations, 'library' research or informational projects, and/or 'explanation' models or kit building are not appropriate.
- A research project may be a part of a larger study performed by professional scientists, but the project presented by the student must be only their own portion of the complete study.
Approval and Documentation:
- Projects involving human participants, vertebrate animals, and potentially hazardous biological agents must be reviewed and approved by a local or regional Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Scientific Review Committee (SRC) prior to the start of experimentation. If a project involves the testing of a student designed invention, prototype or concept by a human, an IRB review and approval may be required prior to experimentation.
- Every student must complete the Student Checklist (1A), a Research Plan/Project Summary, and Approval Form (1B) and review the project with the Adult Sponsor in coordination with completion by the Adult Sponsor of the Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1).
- A Qualified Scientist is required for all studies involving Biosafety Lab-2 (BSL-2) potentially hazardous biological agents and DEA-controlled substances and is also required for many human participant studies and many vertebrate animal studies.
- Any continuing project must document that the additional research is new and different using a Continuation/Research Progression Projects Form (7).
- If work was conducted in a regulated research institution, industrial setting or any work site other than home, school or field at any time during the current ISEF project year, the Regulated Research Institutional/Industrial Setting Form (1C) must be completed and displayed at the project booth.
- A project data book is strongly required.
- All signed forms, certifications, and permits must be available for review during the fair.
Note: Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse. Be sure to review the complete set of rules published by the Society For Science: Rules for All Projects
Note: A complete listing of the 2023 Rules and Guidelines broken down based on category is posted by the Society For Science: 2024 Rules and Guidelines
Access fillable forms: ISEF Forms
Display Regulations
Maximum Size of Project
- Depth (front to back): 30 inches or 76 centimeters
- Width (side to side): 48 inches or 122 centimeters
- Height (floor to top): 108 inches or 274 centimeters
All project materials and support mechanisms must fit within the project dimensions.
If a table is used it becomes part of the project and must not exceed the allowed dimensions.
Photograph/Image Display Requirements
- It is not deemed offensive or inappropriate by the Scientific Review Committee or Display & Safety Committee (including, but not limited to images/photgraphs showing invertebrate or vertebrate animals/humans in surgical, necrotizing or dissection situations).
- It has a credit line of origin ("Photograph taken by...." or "Image taken from...." or "Graph/Chart/Table taken from ...."). If all images, etc. displayed were created by the finalist or are from the same source, one credit line prominently and vertically displayed on the backboard/poster or tabletop is sufficient. All images MUST BE properly cited (digital object identifiers (DOI) are acceptable in place of long URLs). This includes background graphics, photographs and/or visual depictions of the finalist or photographs and/or visual depictions of others for which a signed photo/video release form is in a notebook or logbook at the project booth.
Items/Materials Not Allowed on Display or at Project Booth
- The use of commercial logos including known brands, institutional crests or trademarks, flags unless integral to the project.
- Any reference to an institution or mentor that supported the finalist's research except as provided in an acknowledgement section of the poster.
- Any reference to patent status of the project.
- Any items intended for distribution such as disks, CDs, flash drives, brochures, booklets, endorsements, give-away items, business cards, printed materials or food items desgined to be distribute to judges or the public.
- Postal addresses, World Wide Web, email and/or social media addresses, QR codes, telephone numbers of a project or finalist. Note: The only personal information that is permissible to incude on the display is the finalist name, school, city, state, and country.
- Active internet or email connections as part of displaying or operating the project.
Items Not Allowed Due to Safety Regulations
- Living organisms, including plants
- Glass
- Soil, sand, rock, cement and/or waste samples, even if permanently encased in a slab of acrylic
- Taxidermy specimens or parts
- Preserved vertebrate or invertebrate animals
- Human or animal food
- Human/animal parts or body fluides (for example, blood, urine)
- Plant materials (living, dead, or preserved) that are in their raw, unprocesed, or non-manufactured state
- All chemicals including water. Absolutely no liquids can be utilized in the display.
- All hazardous substances ore devices (Example: poisons, drugs, firearms, weapons, ammunition, reloading devices, grease/oil and sublimating solids such as dry ice)
- Items that may have contained or been in contact with hazardous chemicals. Filters (including microbial) unless it can be reasonably etermined that the device was cleaned or never used.
- Sharp items (for example, syringes, needles, pipettes, knives)
- Flames and highly flammable materials
- Batteries with open-top cells or wet cells
- Drones or any flight-capable apparatus unless the propulsion power source is removed
- 3D printers unless the power source is removed
- Inadequately insulated apparatus capable of producing dangerous temperatures
- Any apparatus with belts, pulleys, chains, or moving parts with tension or pinch points that are not appropriately shielded
- Any display items that are deemed distracting (i.e. sounds, lights, odors, etc.)
- Any apparatus or project material deemed unsafe by the Scientific Review committee or the Display & Safety Committee
Note: Ignorance of the rules is no excuse. Review the Display and Safety Rules at the Society For Science.