Rules & Requirements

Each project should be supervised by a teacher or caregiver. The supervising adult should use their best judgment to ensure the safety of the student and any subjects (human or other animals). Caregivers and teachers assume responsibility for the safety of the student and any test subjects involved in the project. 

For additional information regarding the boundaries of supervising projects, please refer to the STL Science Fair Policy on Caregiver Involvement. 

• Projects that cause potential physical or emotional harm to humans are NOT permitted. 
• It is strongly recommended that all subjects have a signed consent form. 
• If human data is used, all personally identifiable information must be redacted on the poster and in the logbook. 
• Use of human fluids in projects is permitted, however, safety considerations MUST BE EXPLICITLY STATED. 
• Human fluids are NOT permitted to be displayed on the Fair floor. 

Please refer to the STL Science Fair Policy on Generative AI Usage.

AI use is acceptable as long as it follows the Fair policy linked above. All AI use must be named in the Works Cited section of the project.

Display boards can be a maximum 36” x 48” inch tri-fold board that can stand on its own. A title header board is acceptable but not required.

Posters at the STL Science Fair must be free of any self-promotion, product placement, and religious views (ie. Biblical Connections, Religious Justification). Posters displaying these elements may be removed from the Fair or have parts redacted prior to judging.

CHANGE in 2027: Materials may accompany the tri-fold board display, however, they must adhere to the Rules and Regulations, including fitting within a 12x24x12in space on the table in-front of the poster.

CHANGE IN 2027: DO NOT attach the approval forms to the trifold poster. All paperwork will be signed virtually within the MySciFair Platform.

There should be no identifying information on the poster. This includes: Student Name(s), School, External Partners (ie. Science Coach, YSP, etc), Teacher Name, School District, any personally identifiable data from the participants, any pictures including the faces of minors. Posters displaying these elements may be removed from the Fair or have parts redacted prior to judging.

All projects have a sequence number in the MySciFair platform. The sequence number must be written in the BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER of the poster. Please double-check this number before drop-off. If the Sequence Number is illegible, the project may be judged incorrectly.

Projects in the Regional Division are judged for Ribbons and Special Awards Tuesday-Thursday based on the category they have been registered in. In the regional division, projects are judged based on the materials that are displayed; students are NOT present during judging in the regional division.

Ribbons and Special Awards will be announced Thursday after 7P on stlsciencefair.org.

Virtual projects are able to request a ribbon within two weeks of the conclusion of the Fair. Ribbons should be picked up at the Academy of Science St. Louis offices.

All Special Awards will be distributed at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday. If you are unable to attend the Awards Ceremony, your award packet will be sent to your school. It is strongly recommended that you have a MOST 529 account set-up prior to receiving an award; all scholarship dollars are given in the form of a MOST 529 check.

Students will receive feedback that is intended to give constructive suggestions for students to continue forward in their scientific endeavors, IF it is provided by the judges.

Projects must be picked up from the Fair on Friday or Saturday during public hours. Project boards not picked up will be taken to the Academy of Science St. Louis Offices; unfortunately, any display materials in addition to the trifold boards will be disposed of once the fair is over. Project boards not claimed within seven days after the Fair concludes will be disposed of.

Projects must have been completed within the period of time between the 2026 STL Science Fair and the 2027 STL Science Fair. 

• Projects using superbugs and antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria are NOT permitted at the Fair. 
• Mold and bacteria samples must be double-bagged and sealed with tape to be admissible on the Fair floor. Samples that do not follow these guidelines will be discarded by Fair staff. 

• Projects that cause potential physical or emotional harm to vertebrate animals are NOT permitted. 
• Invertebrate organisms are permitted, however proper research should be done to ensure the safety of the organism in accordance with standard lab practices. 
• No vertebrate organisms may be euthanized for the purpose of a project. 
• Use of animal tissues that have been exposed to a viral or bacterial outbreak are not permitted in the regional division. 
• Animal samples of any kind are NOT permitted on the Fair floor. 

• Projects that involve a level of risk above and beyond what is encountered in everyday life are defined as hazardous. 
• Hazardous chemicals are NOT permitted on the Fair floor. 
• Hazardous chemicals must have STORAGE and DISPOSAL PROCEDURES EXPLICITLY STATED.

FIREARMS

• Projects using firearms are NEVER permitted. This includes antique, curio, or relic firearms, blackjack, concealable firearms, detonators, explosive weapons, firearms, gas guns, machine guns, projectile weapons, rifles, short barrel, shotguns, and spring guns. (RSMo Section 571.010)
• Any project using firearms will be immediately disqualified from the STL Science Fair. 

EXPLOSIONS

• Projects are NOT permitted to explore explosions or detonations. (NFPA 549, Explosive Materials Code) 
• Projects exploring deflagrations are permitted in a controlled, safe, supervised environment. 
• All deflagration projects must have safety measures EXPLICITLY STATED. 

DRUGS and ALCOHOL

• Projects are NOT permitted to use any DEA scheduled drugs in data collection. 
• Projects are NOT permitted to use any alcoholic beverages in data collection. 
• Projects are only allowed to use non-scheduled drugs if they are NOT ingested by any humans or animals. 
• Projects may use 70-90% isopropyl alcohol or denatured ethanol as a cleaning agent. For using isopropyl alcohol or denatured alcohol as a material please contact, sciencefair@academyofsciencestl.org.