Judges & Volunteers:

Sign in to update your RSVP

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High school students: see change about ISWEEEP below in this column!

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Teachers and mentors play a vital role in the science fair process.  By registering as a teacher/advisor/mentor with TCRSF, we will be able to provide you timely information regarding the registration and SRC processing of your students.  You will be able to access reports regarding the status of your students, as well as receive optional email notifications when your students register or when their SRC status changes.

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Upcoming Student Events

TCRSF is Feb 28-March 1, 2014, at the Field House, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis campus

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JSHS Tri-State North Central Regional April 6 - 7, 2013, at the Doubletree Hilton Bloomington (formerly Sheraton) (research paper competition, grades 9-12)

Minnesota State Science & Engineering Fair (Sun.-Tues.) April 7 - 9, 2013, at the Doubletree Hilton Bloomington (formerly Sheraton)
7800 Normandale Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN 55439 (Same location as 2011, different management: (Tall white hotel off of 494/100) FREE PARKING for everyone (State competition is for project exhibits in grades 6-12 and for research papers for grades 6-8.)

I-SWEEEP 2013 - May 8-13, 2013: Online registration is open October 29, 2012 - March 8, 2013. Those who attended ISWEEEP from TCRSF have given it rave reviews! I-SWEEEP will be open to students attending the grades in 9th thorough 12.  Students may apply directly to ISWEEEP for a chance to compete and TCRSF will be allowed to name  winning projects for 2013 from our fairs to compete without the application process. All students who have competed at ISWEEEP and reported back to us have thought the program very worth while.

Our LINKS page contains links for additional competitions, links to sites for science fair ideas, science methodology (how to do...), and links to some science magazines. These can spark good ideas for your next science project!

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Photos are now available including 2013 competitions.

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Twin Cities Regional Science Fairs will be held at the UofM Field House - and we already have our dates! 

February 28 - March 1, 2014 

2014 forms & rules will be available the end of May 2013.

2013 forms & rules are posted on the Forms page.

TEACHERS/STUDENTS/PARENTS: DO NOT PRINT FORMS DUPLEX / ON BOTH SIDES OF THE PAPER. PLEASE PRINT SINGLE SIDED ONLY FOR OFFICIAL PAPERWORK!

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For 2014, students send your research plans via email to src@tcrsf.org to get feedback, help on forms, make sure you have all pre-approvals you need, and feel free to discuss ideas concerning the design of your experiment.

If you have questions or concerns please email or call!

2013 TCRSF Program

2012 TCRSF Program

2011 TCRSF Program

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If you are interested in providing an award for the next science fair, please send an email to awards@tcrsf.org. Awards must be preapproved by January 31, 2014 for the 2014 fair.

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The TCRSF website is in the process of being updated. Notice the 2nd line from the top right corner of each page which will now give the date the page was modified/updated.  Any pages that do not say "Updated on ..." have not yet been changed since August 15, 2010.  Remember, if you have articles or tips to share, please submit them to webmaster@tcrsf.org.

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Middle school students (grades 6-8) will be nominated to compete in the Broadcom MASTERS (see Broadcam Masters) at SSP-affiliated science fairs. Nominees will enter the competition by completing an online application where they will be asked to explain their science project and have an opportunity to demonstrate their use of STEM principles - science, technology, engineering and math - in the development and presentation of their project. From national entrants, 300 Semifinalists will be selected, including 30 Finalists who win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., where they will compete for awards and prizes, including the top education award of $25,000.

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If you have photos from TCRSF or advanced competitions that you would like to share, please email webmaster@tcrsf.org for instructions. Thank you for sharing your photos!  

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 Science Fair (TCRSF) Thanks Our Sponsors

Without our sponsors and volunteers, we could not have a science fair!  Our financial sponsors at the Platinum Level are the Medtronic, 3M Foundation, and Ecolab. Thank you,  Medtronic, 3M,  and Ecolab for your continuing support of science education! 

Our financial sponsor at the Gold Level is Dow Water & Process Solutions Thank you, for your support in encouraging students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Our financial sponsors at the Silver Level are Alliant Techsystems and Midway Party Rental, Inc.

And, our financial sponsors at the Bronze Level  are   University of Minnesota, Twin City Catering, Office Max Impress, City of St. Paul Youth Fund, the Slattery Sales Group and Ed's Trophies Inc. in St. Paul Park, MN  (email: edstrophies@comcast.net, call Donna) 

Special thanks to our sponsor for all your printing and office needs:  Office Max Impress

If you are interested in becoming a financial sponsor of the science fair, please contact Mike Lohman at 763-421-3338. 

If you are interested in providing an award for the next science fair, please send an email to awards@tcrsf.org. Awards must be preapproved by January 31, 2013 for the 2013 fair.

Teachers, judges, & volunteers may register anytime. Students may email their complete research plan for the next competition to src@tcrsf.org with their name & grade during that competition year for SRC pre-approval.  Email or call if you have questions.

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Congratulations to our finalists at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)! They represented us well in competition.

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Congratulations to Jenny Lai (Wayzata HS), Andy Ylitalo (Stillwater HS), Roy Zhao (Wayzata HS) and Connor Duffy (Mounds View HS) for being named national semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search.  Good luck to all 4 of these students as they compete to be STS finalists!

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Andy Ylitalo and Caleb Kumar were inducted to the National Gallery of Young Inventors for their innovative TCRSF projects.  Their projects were among 6 selected nationwide for this recognition. http://nmoe.org/index.htm

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Congratulations to Carolyn Jons of Eden Prairie for her winning project and entry into the  2012 3M Discovery Young Scientist Challenge.  Carolyn won 2nd place in the nation! See her biography on Discovery Challenge's website. 

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National Finalist in the Broadcom MASTERS competition

Carolyn Jons of Eden Prairie won one of 30 finalists in the Broadcom MASTERS™ competition.  which included an all expense paid trip to Washington, DC, in October to compete in nationals in both 2011 & 2012! In 2012, Carolyn took 2nd place in nationals in Engineering, and in 2011, Carolyn was chosen to win one of two Rising Star awards in the nation to have an all expense paid trip as a student to ISEF 2012 in Pittsburg, PA! That meanst she was able to participate in ISEF as a middle school student in all but the project judging itself! The Twin Cities is proud of her! (Next year, ALL you regional winners of Broadcom MASTERS™ need to apply!)

From Society for Science & the Public's website:

"The Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science & the Public (SSP) announced the selection of 30 middle school students as finalists in its first ever Broadcom MASTERS™ competition. The Broadcom MASTERS finalists were selected by a panel of distinguished scientists and engineers from among 1,476 applicants located in 45 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. The finalists will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, in October to showcase their science fair projects and compete in a four-day STEM competition for awards and prizes, including the top education award of $25,000 presented by the Samueli Foundation, a gift of Susan and Henry Samueli, a founder of Broadcom."

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Congratulations to Caleb Kumar!

Twin Cities' 2011 competitor,  Caleb Kumar from Blaine, with his paper/project, Designing a Java Program to Diagnose Bladder Cancer, has won a $25,000 2011 Davidson Fellowship Scholarship! CONGRATULATIONS, Caleb!

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Congratulations to Gavin Ovsak!

Gavin Ovsak from Eden Prairie was invited to participate in the 2nd annual White House science fair in 2012!

Gavin Ovsak from Eden Prairie made the top 15 in the world (top 5 in his age category) in the first Google Science Fair contest and will visit Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. To read about Gavin Ovsak's project in the age 15-16 category (The Efficiency and Testing of a Fully Submersible Geared Water Turbine ).

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The Electronic Library for Minnesota offers science resources at your fingertips! 

article submitted by Elizabeth Staats fried004@umn.edu, UofM Assistant Librarian

ELM, also known as the Electronic Library for Minnesota, gives Minnesota residents online access to magazine, journal, newspaper, and encyclopedia articles, eBooks (online books), and other information resources 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at http://www.elm4you.org.  Whatever your interests and information needs, ELM provides access to content on a vast array of topics, including current events, science, social science, health, politics, business, consumer information, arts and humanities, and more.  

ELM includes two databases specific to the sciences, Science Reference Center and General Science Collection but offers several additional databases that include science and STEM-related content at http://www.elm4you.org/databases/content/stem. 

Science Reference Center provides easy access to a multitude of full-text science-oriented content. Designed to meet every student's science research needs, Science Reference Center contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, magazines, and other sources as well as including an image and video collection. Topics covered include biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environmental science, health & medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science & society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology, wildlife, and it includes over 1,400 science experiments! Science Reference Center also satisfies the demand for standards-based content by providing teachers and librarians with articles correlated to state and national curriculum standards.

General Science Collection offers in-depth information for scientific research including nearly 300 predominantly full-text academic journals and general science focused magazines.  It covers scientific topics from particle physics to quantum theory to biotechnology and includes well-known titles like Scientific American, Archeology, Physics Today, Info Today, Mathematics Magazine and many more. 

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Twin Cities Regional Science Fairs - Benefits of Doing Both a Science Project and a Research Paper

Is science fair just for geeks or nerds? NO WAY!  Doing a good science fair project teaches real life skills that apply to EVERYONE!

First of all, what is a science project?  A science project is the process of running a controlled experiment, proposing a new theory based on library or experimental research, or developing a new concept, invention, program, or design (engineering).  A science project is not a report about an area of science. A science project is not building a model that demonstrates something, unless the point of the project is a new engineering design. Models of volcanoes, or of the solar system, or of the heart are not a science project. Use of a model to demonstrate a new theory or finding is, however, acceptable.  At the school and regional levels of competition in a science fair, the science project is more about the process of science and project work than it is about the specific findings.

The purpose of doing a science project is to teach the student several skills. The first skill to be learned is the planning, execution, and evaluation of a project. Every project, including remodeling or decorating a room in your house or apartment or building a deck, requires the same basic process.

Doing a science project teaches the student extremely valuable skills integrating  reading, writing, spelling, grammar, critical thinking, scientific methodology, graphic arts, math, statistics, ethics, logic, computer science,  self-learning of one or more technical or specialty fields, and  public speaking and defense in front of expert judges. When a student completes a science fair project, year after year, through junior and senior high school, the science fair process yields mature, self-confident, skilled, and competitive young leaders who have career goals and the preparation, discipline, and drive to attain them.

Did you know that doing an excellent science project in high school is likely the highest paying job your high school student can get?  A top project and paper can net a quarter of a million dollars just in winnings, and that doesn't count what it does for a student's resume, college application, and self-confidence! Many students earn $5000 or more!  Some of these projects take as few as 6 weeks to complete.  Now that pays more than a summer job!

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