Western Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair

Save the Dates!

The Jandon Center’s STEAM Outreach team is excited to host the 2020 Western Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fair at Smith College for middle and high school students!

HIGH SCHOOL FAIR
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Smith College

MIDDLE SCHOOL FAIR
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Smith College

People and students visiting a high school science fair

The Jandon Center for Community Engagement STEAM Outreach team is excited to host the Western Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fairs at Smith College for middle and high school students. Learn more about the vision of this initiative in The Gate and in Smith’s student newspaper, The Sophian.

The Jandon Center for Community Engagement STEAM Outreach team is excited to host the Western Massachusetts Science and Engineering Fairs at Smith College for middle and high school students. Learn more about the vision of this initiative in The Gate and in Smith’s student newspaper, The Sophian.


Schedule & Awards Ceremony

High School Fair

 

The virtual ceremony for the 2021 high school fair was hosted by Smith College on Saturday, March 20. Judging took place during the week of March 14. Enjoy the video!

Important Dates
  • Online zFair Registration Due: Friday, January 22 [Extended deadline, new date]
  • All SRC Forms Due: Friday, January 22
  • All Registration Forms Due: Monday, February 22
  • Video Submissions, Notebook and Research Report Due: Friday, March 12 by 3 p.m. EST
  • Fair Awards Day: Saturday, March 20

Middle School Fair

image of a student project at the science fair

 

Judging will take place the week of April 11 and a virtual awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 17, 2021.

Important Dates
  • Online zFair Registration Due: Friday, February 12
  • All Registration Forms Due: Monday, March 29
  • Video Submission Due: Friday, April 9 by 3 p.m. EST
  • Fair Awards Day: Saturday, April 17

Overview & Instructions

All Students

Due to the pandemic, our 2021 middle and high school fairs will be held virtually. All participants, including teachers, students and judges, will be asked to create an account through our zFairs Platform. The high school and middle school zFairs Platform are available for participant registration. PDF instructions for registering and using zFairs is located on our zFairs homepage under “Important Covid-19 Information” and highlighted in yellow. Note: Teachers must create an account before student accounts can be formed. For both fairs, students will be asked to create a 5-8 minute video overview of their research and upload it to the zFairs site. Details about how to accomplish this, along with scoring rubrics will follow.

NEW this year: We are adding a separate fair category specifically for proposal projects in addition to our traditional completed projects category for those students and teachers who may be interested in conducting preliminary theoretical research but are unable, due to limited resources, to complete the experimental portion of their research during the 2020–21 academic year. Note: Proposal project contestants will NOT be eligible for Regeneron ISEF advancement.

For High School Students

Please register online through our new zFairs System. Note: Your teacher will have to register first before students are eligible. At the end of the process, the system will tell you which forms you need to submit for SRC review and approval. The high school student manual and forms can be found on the MSEF website.  

High school fair planning dates, including SRC review, registration, paperwork, video submission, judging and awards ceremony are available in the Logistics & Schedule section.

Please honor all deadlines and cutoff dates in order to ensure acceptance into the fair. This includes documents for SRC approval, registration forms and video uploads.

Registration information to complete your 2021 high school application will be available soon.

 

For Middle School Teachers and Students

Please register online through our new zFairs System. Note: Your teacher will have to register first before students are eligible. A student registration guide can be found on the middle school zFairs site to assist you with registration.

Since we were unable to host our 2020 Western Massachusetts Middle School Science & Engineering Fair this past spring, we will be allowing students to submit their 2020 projects for our 2021 fair, provided their new teacher completes the necessary registration and paperwork.

Middle school fair planning dates, including SRC review, registration, paperwork, video submission, judging and awards ceremony information is available in the Logistics & Schedule section.

Information to complete the 2021 middle school fair registration for students and teachers can be found on our zFairs site.

Volunteer High School Judges

We are recruiting volunteers and judges to assist with both the high school and middle school fairs. 

Volunteers who are interested in judging our high school fair during the week of March 14, 2021, please visit our zFairs Platform and register as a judge. Note: High school judges must be a minimum of a college senior STEM major or have acquired the equivalent STEM-related training or experience. Please contact Deborah Day, chair, at dday@smith.edu with inquiries.

 

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAILING LIST

Advisory Board

Deborah Day, STEAM Outreach Coordinator, Jandon Center for Community Engagement at Smith College; Chair, Western MA Science and Engineering Fair: Deborah shares her expertise and passion for research and STEM education as former director of the Amity Science Research Program and chemistry teacher. She currently leads the STEAM Outreach program at Smith, developing new, sustainable experiential programming and providing opportunities for Smithies to partner with a wide variety of community members.

Nancy Zigler, Assistant Director, Jandon Center for Community Engagement at Smith College: Nancy manages operations and contributes to strategic planning and organization of the Jandon Center, including developing new partnerships and projects.

Megan Holm, Smith College STEAM Outreach Fellow: Megan is a Smith College junior from Flagstaff, Arizona. She is a biochemistry major and a member of the Smith crew team.

Emma Tierney, Smith College STEAM Outreach Fellow: Emma is a junior from Philadelphia, majoring in anthropology and minoring in chemistry. Emma enjoys training service dogs.

Hannah Rappaport: Hannah is a Smith College junior from Orange, Connecticut. She is studying biology and art.

Erika Hayashigatani, Smith College STRIDE Fellow: Erika is a Smith College first-year from Roseville, California. She is a prospective environmental science and policy major.

Elisabeth Sinclair, Smith College STEAM Fellow: Elisabeth is a junior from Tampa, Florida. She is a government major and is also taking the environmental concentration. She hopes to pursue a career in environmental law after graduation.

Vivien Qiao, Smith College STEAM Fellow: Vivien is a sophomore from Andover, Massachusetts. She is majoring in biochemistry and engineering and working toward becoming a physician. She is part of the Smith equestrian team and enjoys working with kids.

Helen Glover: Helen is a Smith College first - year student from Fairfield, CT. She plans to major in environmental science and pursue a career in environmental policy. She and her family run a certified organic farm & garden.

Jon Tyler, Chair, Scientific Review Committee, Western MA Science and Engineering Fair: Jon has taught AP chemistry at Westfield High School for more than 20 years. He is a member of the MSEF High School Committee and has chaperoned the Massachusetts delegation to the International Science and Engineering Fair for several years.

Shannon Zayac: Shannon works in workforce development at Berkshire Workforce Board and is an adjunct professor of biology at Berkshire Community College. She is a member of the MSEF High School Committee and traveled with the Massachusetts delegation to the International Science and Engineering Fair in 2019.

Joy Erickson: Joy is the director of the CT-JSHS program for the state of Connecticut. She is a retired faculty member from the University of Connecticut and lives part-time in western Massachusetts. After 30 years of research and working as program coordinator for the NSF LSAMP program, campus director for NASA Space Grant, director of Middle School Science Bowl, UConn Science Wizards and co-coordinator of the Bridge to the Doctorate Program, she has decided to get involved with STEM where she now calls home.

Lauren Figy: Lauren is the supervisor of science, technology and engineering for Westfield Public Schools. She supervises the Westfield Public Schools Science and Engineering Fair with the help of the employees at both Westfield high schools.

Estelle Ann Fanucci: Estelle is the retired science department chairperson for Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, Connecticut. As chairperson, she supervised the establishment of Amity’s Science Research Program. She remains active in STEM and serves on the board of directors for the Connecticut STEM Foundation Inc. She established and is the chair for the Connecticut STEM Foundation Inc. Scholarship Program.

Madeleine DelVicario, Experiential Learning Coordinator, Jandon Center: Maddie comes to the Jandon Center with a background in Middle and High School math and science education. At the Jandon Center, she focuses on connecting students, faculty, and staff with more opportunities for experiential and community-engaged learning and research.

Contact STEAM Outreach

Jandon Center for Community Engagement

Wright Hall

Smith College

Northampton, MA 01063