You’ll find great informaton about designing and creating your project display at mySTEMspace.

 

Science fair project displays criteria are very closely adhered to at the Canada-Wide Science Fair. For the HSTE, our aim is to approach these criteria, but we are somewhat more lenient in terms of size and material. Students going on to CWSF will be assisted by the HSTE committee to ensure their project displays meet the requirements.

For HSTE, the main concern regarding material will be safety. Of course equipment and materials used or included in the display must be safe for the public. If any dangerous substances or equipment or large items were used in the project, photos of these usually suffice.

In general, there are five aspects of the project display that must be checked:

• • Display dimensions
  • Backboard and display materials
  • Presentation information and attachment
  • Safety of display items and student-constructed devices
  • Absence of restricted materials and biohazards

The following information provides a summary of the display safety requirements.

Display Dimensions

Your project display, including the backboard, title board, presentation and prop material, and all display equipment, must fit entirely within these dimensions: 1.2 m wide, 0.8 m deep and 2.5 m high from the floor. Exhibits exceeding these dimensions must be modified before they will receive safety approval. No portion of the display shall project into any aisle. Each project will be allocated one 4 foot (1.2 m) section of table.

Backboard and Display Materials

Your display will be inspected as part of the safety check, and backboards/displays not meeting these standards will have to be adjusted or reconstructed from approved materials.

It is important to ensure that materials are well secured to the backboard and are not hanging loosely. This avoids the chance of parts falling on the floor, getting damaged or causing a hazard.

Presentation Information and Attachment

Presentation information, which includes text, graphics, photographs and other data on the backboard, must be printed on bond (laser, ink jet or standard copier) paper, photographic paper or laminated paper and must be attached so that all edges are securely fastened. Papers may not be layered on the backboard.

Construction paper, Bristol board and papers listed above may be used to outline or border presentation information or to add small decorative elements to the backboard.

Anything used to raise presentation information more than 2 mm above the surface of the backboard must be constructed of approved backboard material.

The use of lamination is discouraged for environmental reasons.

The use of toxic adhesives is prohibited at HSTE.

Papers presented on the exhibit table should be secured in a binder, Duo-tang, presentation folder, plastic sleeve or other appropriate enclosure.