Divisions
- Elementary Divisions: Grades 3 & 4
- Junior Division: Grades 5, 6, 7, 8
- Senior Division: Grades 9, 10, 11, 12
Categories
Participants should select the best category for their project from the ones appearing on the registration website (also listed below). Please note that the categories have changed to reflect changes at the state and international science fairs. Click on the link to take you to the subcategories and their descriptions.
Animal Sciences (AS) – This category includes all aspects of animals and animal life, animal life cycles, and animal interactions with one another or with their environment. Examples of investigations included in this category would involve the study of the structure, physiology, development, and classification of animals, animal ecology, animal husbandry, entomology, ichthyology, ornithology, and herpetology, as well as the study of animals at the cellular and molecular level which would include cytology, histology, and cellular physiology.
Behavioral and Social Sciences (BE) – The science or study of the thought processes and behavior of humans and other animals in their interactions with the environment studied through observational and experimental methods.
Biochemistry (BI) – The study of the chemical basis of processes occurring in living organisms, including the processes by which these substances enter into, or are formed in, the organisms and react with each other and the environment.
Biomedical and Health Sciences (BM) – This category focuses on studies specifically designed to address issues of human health and disease. It includes studies on the diagnosis, treatment, prevention or epidemiology of disease and other damage to the human body or mental systems. Includes studies of normal functioning and may investigate internal as well as external factors such as feedback mechanisms, stress or environmental impact on human health and disease.
Chemistry (CH) – Studies exploring the science of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter not involving biochemical systems.
Computer Science (CS) – Studies that primarily focus on the discipline and techniques of computer science and mathematics as they relate to biological systems. This includes the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavior, and social systems.
Earth and Environmental Science (EA) – Studies of the environment and its effect on organisms/systems, including investigations of biological processes such as growth and life span, as well as studies of Earth systems and their evolution.
Engineering (EN) – Studies that focus on the science and engineering that involve movement or structure. The movement can be by the apparatus or the movement can affect the apparatus. Can also include studies that engineer or develop processes and infrastructure to solve environmental problems in the supply of water, the disposal of waste, or the control of pollution.
Mathematics (MA) – The study of the measurement, properties, and relationships of quantities and sets, using numbers and symbols. The deductive study of numbers, geometry, and various abstract constructs, or structures.
Microbiology (MI) – The study of micro-organisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, prokaryotes, and simple eukaryotes as well as antimicrobial and antibiotic substances.
Physics and Astronomy (PH) – Physics is the science of matter and energy and of interactions between the two. Astronomy is the study of anything in the universe beyond the Earth.
Plant Sciences (PS) – Studies of plants and how they live, including structure, physiology, development, and classification. Includes plant cultivation, development, ecology, genetics and plant breeding, pathology, physiology, systematics and evolution.
Robotics and Embedded Systems (RO) – Studies in which the use of machine intelligence is paramount to reducing the reliance on human intervention.