Teacher Workshop and Science Fair Clinic for students & parents at SCCOE on Oct. 11

On Thursday, October 11, from 7 – 8:30 PM, there will be two events at the SCCOE offices at 1290 Ridder Park Drive in San Jose. For students and parents, the clinic will be about participating in science fair – how to find an idea and then develop, display and present the project. For teachers*, the workshop will focus on project requirements, process and paperwork. (The teacher workshop is definitely “on” for Thursday at 7 and last-minute attendees are welcome.)
*The teacher workshop may be helpful to parents who will be in charge of Parent-Sponsored Projects. Please review rule #13 about PSPs here.

The online application for the 2019 Synopsys Championship is open. Apply as soon as possible for projects that need SRC pre-approval. The deadline for the first SRC review meeting is October 17. Information about submitting an application and all the deadlines are posted here.

There is a diagram to help determine if a project requires SRC/IRB pre-approval. This will be true for most projects involving human participants, vertebrate animals, and potentially hazardous biological agents. The review committee would also like to pre-approve all projects in the Hazardous Agents, Activities and Devices category.

Congratulations to our Broadcom MASTERS finalists! The Broadcom Foundation and Society for Science & the Public announced 30 finalists in the 2018 competition for middle school students, where finalists are selected from the top 10% of projects in affiliated science fairs across the U.S.

Four of the finalists are from the Synopsys Championship; they will present their projects in the final competition October 19-24 in Washington, D.C.:

The finalists include 14 girls and 16 boys from 14 states. California has the most finalists with nine, followed by Florida with four, and three each from Georgia and Oregon.

Congratulations to all 21 participants in the 2018 Synopsys Championship who are among the “Top 300” in the Broadcom MASTERS competition for middle school students, sponsored by the Broadcom Foundation and the Society for Science & the Public. 78 students in the Top 300 are from California. They were selected from 2,537 applicants who qualified to enter the Broadcom MASTERS by being among the top 10 percent of the participants at their Society-affiliated science fairs. View the press release and Top 300 list at the Student Science web site.

The Regeneron Science Talent Search 2019 application is open now until November 14th. In addition to the Intel ISEF and the Broadcom MASTERS programs, the Society for Science & the Public also owns and produces the Regeneron STS, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious competition for high school seniors.

The 2019 Science Fair season will kick off with 2 clinics:

• September 11, from 7-8:30 PM, a Science Fair Clinic in the Madrone Room at the Community and Cultural Center in Morgan Hill, 17000 Monterey Rd, Morgan Hill, CA 95037. The intended audience is teachers but the clinic is open to all.
• September 26, an Engineering Clinic at the same location, also from 7-8:30 PM. This workshop is intended for students as well as teachers.

The 2019 Synopsys Championship will be held in South Hall at the San Jose Convention Center on March 13-14, 2019. Information about application deadlines and workshop dates will be posted as soon as they are scheduled.

The 2018 Synopsys Championship Awards Ceremony is the afternoon of April 8 at the Heritage Theater in Campbell.  See the Winner Summary page.  The Awards Ceremony is an ‘Invitation Only’ event for each student plus 2 guests. Students will receive an email message specifying the time they should arrive.

If any students have changed their email addresses since applying to the 2018 fair, they should notify the fair manager at once.

Judge Feedback Forms for students will be sent to their teachers as soon as our volunteers can sort through all the forms.  Please be patient.

Congratulations to all the students (more than 1000!) who participated in the 2018 Synopsys Championship. A special Thank you to our sponsors and great volunteers for making the event successful. Stay tuned for the winners listing.

You’ll find useful information and links on the Student Information and Teacher Information pages.

Bring to Check-In:

• your project board;
• your Compliance Checklist
• copies of your Project Abstract – at least 10 for middle school; 15 for high school
• any additional forms that you have been asked to bring during the reivew process.

There’s a good chance of rain on both days so be prepared. Note to first time participants: the restrooms for South Hall are located outside the building so an umbrella might be useful.

PowerPoint presentations are not allowed, but you might need your laptop to show a video or demo as part of your project. Make sure it is fully charged as there are no power outlets at the project display tables.

This year try sharing your photos with #synopsyschampionship!