Resources

"Treasure your curiosity and nurture your imagination."

-Shirley Ann Jackson, first Black woman to receive a doctorate from MIT

Think about SAFETY first:

The teacher’s and students' job is to ensure that all investigations and experiments are safe and appropriate for the grade level under supervised conditions.

Be careful of experiments that produce gases or use gases (CO2, dry ice), use chemicals like cleaners, bleaches, alcohol, or use of bacteria or mold. These are a few examples of the experiments that would require approval by the Scientific Review Committee (SRC).
Investigators must be aware of what projects are restricted and which need pre-approval.
Investigators should review the SJCOE STEAM Fair Handbook (linked below).
Email us if you are in doubt!

The Rules Wizard has been designed as a first step to help you determine what forms and approvals are necessary before beginning a science fair project.

SJCOE suggests that all students, before they begin a STEAM Fair project, answer each of the questions, and a result page will provide a list of forms and information based on your answers; these forms and the accompanying rules should be reviewed closely with a teacher or mentor BEFORE experimentation begins.

SJCOE does not require forms to be submitted for our fair approval. All projects will be evaluated before being displayed to ensure investigations and experiments are safe and appropriate for the grade level under supervised conditions. The California State Science and Engineering Fair does require the safety forms to be completed before investigating, kept with the project notebook, and submitted as needed.

This wizard is intended to be a helpful tool, but it cannot account for all specifics and situations of your individual project. Please be sure to review the International Rules.

The Regeneron ISEF SRC (Scientific Review Committee) is available via e-mail ([email protected]) to answer any specific questions you may have.

Rules Wizard Webpage

Safety Forms Webpage

SJCOE STEAM Fair Handbook Information

Investigative Project Requirements

Showcase Project Requirements

2026-2027 Handbook
SJCOE STEAM Fair Handbook
Updated as of 09/30/2026

Student Permission / Hold Harmless Form
English version link
Spanish version link
Updated as of 08/10/2026

Judging Rubrics
Investigative Projects p. 13-16
Showcase Projects DISPLAY ONLY

Possible Interview Questions
K-3 Interview Questions
4-8 Interview Questions
9-12 Interview Questions

Ethics Statement

Scientific fraud and misconduct are not condoned at any level of research or competition. This includes plagiarism, forgery, the presentation of other researchers' work as one's own, and the fabrication of data. Fraudulent projects will not be tolerated and will be disqualified.

The San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) reserves the right to remove any project that it determines presents offensive language or pictures as part of its display, journal, or abstract. The SJCOE maintains reasonable security but is not responsible for lost or damaged displays. Displays that represent a danger to viewers will be removed. All research, experiments, models, and displays presented at the SJCOE STEAM Fair must comply with the California Dept of Education Student Safety Manual (https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/sciencesafety.asp). This includes storage of chemicals, safety gear to be worn by students, and compliance with the Ca. Ed.Code. SJCOE reserves the right to disqualify any projects that exhibit unsafe practices or behaviors or do not use proper personal protective equipment.

The San Joaquin County Office of STEM Programs reserves the right to disqualify any projects which exhibit unsafe practices.

Teachers and Parents Supporting Students

The San Joaquin County STEAM Fair is open to all K-12 students who attend school in San Joaquin County and have a teacher or qualified adult sponsor.

The SJCOE STEAM Fair is a secondary fair, and therefore, all projects submitted must first be evaluated/judged at a preliminary school site competition. The SJCOE STEAM Fair is a qualifying fair for the California State Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF).

What support might you provide your student?

What skills do your students need?
Journaling – EVERYTHING goes in the notebook.
Understanding of key vocabulary words.
Do they know how to do at least three trials, do they know how to graph, and do they know how to do more than one test on their prototype?
Do they understand SAFETY? Should they be using goggles, protective gloves, and clothing? Do they know what safety precautions to use?
Do you really understand their project? You should.
BUT, you should NOT be editing, telling them what to do next, etc. It is the student’s project.
Teachers must be aware of which projects are restricted and which need pre-approval.
All teachers need to review the SJCOE STEAM Fair Handbook
Call or email us if you are in doubt!

Triboard Display Options

Sample STEAM Notebook

This is a sample of a 5th-grade student from Jefferson School,
Jefferson School District.

This sample is NOT meant to show an exemplar notebook. It is meant to show what type of general items would be in a notebook, as well as the scaffolding used by the school to help mentor students through the process.

Notebooks can be handwritten or computer-generated. If you use a computer, you still must bring in a printed copy of your notebook.

As a special note, this project involves vertebrate animals and requires safety forms from the https://ruleswizard.societyforscience.org/

Sample Notebook