If your project will be judged by your teacher, at a school fair or a regional fair, it is helpful to think through your presentation and how to effectively share the story of your project. Understanding how your project will be evaluated can help you focus your efforts and present your work more effectively.

Tell your story

Why is your project important? Why should judges care about the question you were trying to answer or the problem you were trying to solve? We recommend using the Why, How, What, So What, What’s Next? sections to effectively communicate what you learned, your results, and why they matter.

Follow the guidelines

If you have been provided with a rubric or judging guidelines, read through it carefully to identify the most important areas you’ll be assessed on. If you are participating in a regional STEM fair, read through their judging rubric ahead of time (find your regional STEM fair here). Focus your presentation on highlighting the areas that are worth the most.

Key areas

Typically, when your project is evaluated at a STEM fair, judges will assess it across three main categories:

• Scientific Thought – The quality of your scientific idea and the steps you took to investigate your discovery or create your innovation.
• Originality and Creativity – The uniqueness of your idea. Has it been done before or is it an original project?
• Communication – Your skill in presenting and communicating your project to your audience.

Scientific Thought

This category looks at how well you applied the scientific method in your Discovery project, or innovation design process for Innovation projects.

Things judges will likely look for:

• You conducted original research and controlled the variables, showing your understanding of each step and why it was important.
• Your analysis of your data, using your results to come to clear conclusions.
• How you used different technologies or approaches to find the answer to your question.
• An accurate evaluation of your project results and any limitations or gaps that came up.
• Realistic statements about the significance of your project and how it benefits others directly or contributes to knowledge about your topic.
• Your suggestions for next steps you’d could take with your project.

Originality and Creativity

This category evaluates how unique your approach is, whether your topic is original or you’ve used a new method to find answers, and how well you used available materials.

Things the judges will likely look for:

• A unique topic or issue – something that hasn’t been done before!
• An original step-by-step approach to the problem or question you tried to answer.
• Resourcefulness in your design and use of materials and equipment.
• Creative methods of data analysis and drawing conclusions.

Communication

This category looks at your ability to effectively tell the story of your project. This could include: your conversation with judges, your project display, a written report, logbook, or any other materials you created to tell the story of your project.

Things the judges will likely look for:

• Clear, informative content and display materials without too much text or clutter.
• Balance between clarity and brevity – easy to understand and to the point!
• Well-designed visual elements that show key pieces of data that support your conclusions.
• You’ve used diverse and high-quality references.
• Your logbook is complete with thorough, organized records.
• Your presentation is clear, logical, and engaging.
• For partner projects: equal contribution from both students.

Tips for helping judges understand your project

• For Discovery projects: Clearly identify variables, show how you controlled them where possible, and used appropriate analysis methods.
• For Innovation projects: Highlight how your solution is better than existing alternatives and be honest about limitations in your design.
• You know your project better than anyone. Use that confidence to guide you in your conversation with judges.
• Tell the story of your project and start with the “Why?” –  hooking the judges emotionally and why they should care about the topic of your project and the question you tried to answer/problem you tried to solve. Learn more about this approach here.
• Clearly explain your project’s significance and potential next steps.
• Document your creative process and decision-making in your logbook.
• Create a clear, visually appealing display that only includes the most important information to tell the story of your project.
• Share the organized, detailed logbook records that you kept throughout your project.
• Practice explaining your project clearly and answering questions. Learn more about proofreading your project and practicing your presentation here.

Remember

The judging process evaluates not just your results, but your entire scientific journey. Tell the story of your project, from coming up with your initial idea, to the methods and steps you took, to your results and why they are important. Even projects with ‘negative’ results can still be judged successfully if you followed the scientific process carefully and you communicate why you think you got the unexpected results. Judges value honesty about limitations and challenges you faced. Reflecting thoughtfully on what you learned and how your project could be extended or improved shows scientific maturity that judges appreciate.

Any constructive feedback you receive from judges is valuable for your growth as a young scientist or engineer. The skills you develop through your STEM project journey will benefit you far beyond the science fair!