Current Fair Information

When Sir Isaac Newton wrote, “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants,” he was being generous, but he was also being truthful. Good science builds on the work of others and explicitly acknowledges their work.

Youth Science Canada affirms that the pursuit of truth is grounded in certain core values, including diligence, civility and honesty. One of the most important traditions in the scientific community goes hand in hand with honesty, and that is the tradition of academic integrity. Scientists build on others’ achievements. They must be able to trust the integrity of the published literature they build on.

Students want to work in communities where competition is fair, integrity is respected and cheating is not tolerated. Students have significant responsibility to help protect and promote the highest standards of academic integrity. They are expected to respect the best values of their teachers, mentors and parents, and these values include a full commitment to academic integrity. At all science fairs, but particularly at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, students are required to present work that is the result of their own efforts. All assistance received from others must be acknowledged, and all written material that draws on the work of others must be accompanied by appropriate references.

Failure to follow the rules of academic integrity almost always results in disqualification at the CWSF. Specific examples of violations include:

• Plagiarism – presenting the work of others as your own without acknowledging the source. In this case, “work” means scientific results, conceptual development of a topic and substantive formulation or reformulation of a problem. This includes work done by a family member or a mentor. Information on how to properly cite references can be found in CWSF Project Report (Policy 3.1.2.4).
• Fabricating or falsifying data
• Forging signatures
• Fabricating or falsifying registration information
• Entering a project that is either derived from a previous CWSF project or acontinuation or revision of a previous project by the student (or by another) without documentation of the previous work

Students rightly expect their academic work to be fairly and fully assessed. Youth Science Canada will ensure that judging at the CWSF is of the highest professional and ethical standards, without bias or conflict of interest.

Youth Science Canada also works with affiliated regions and other partners to achieve the highest possible standards of judging at all levels of science fairs.

CWSF participants must read the full Youth Science Canada policies: Academic Integrity (Policy1.5.5), Code of Conduct (Policy1.5.1) and Discipline (Policy1.5.2)– before signing the CWSF Permission and Release form or attending the CWSF.

Mentors may be scientists, teachers, parents or, sometimes, other students. When a mentor works with a student in any setting, he or she should always keep in mind that the project is the student’s and not the mentor’s. The mentor’s job is threefold: to assist students in the gathering of background information, to teach students the techniques they will need to test their project’s purpose or hypothesis, and to ensure the safety of all concerned throughout the project.

Mentorship Guidelines

• The science fair project is the student’s work. The mentor’s role is to provide advice and guidance, not to take charge of the project.
• A mentor’s time is valuable. The student should be punctual and prepared to make valuable use of his or her time with the mentor.
• If a student is working in the mentor’s lab, then he or she must be given the safety rules and necessary safety training.
• For the protection of the mentor and the student, all meetings should be held in the presence of others during business hours, at the student’s school in the presence of a teacher or staff member, or at another location with a parent or guardian present.
• Students must take the initiative to contact the mentor and make all arrangements, such as transportation, meeting times, provision of supplies, etc.
• The student is responsible for doing all of his or her own work except where safety or regulations prohibit this.

*Adapted from the ethics statement of the Massachusetts State Science Fair, 2005

Youth Science Canada offers a limited number of backboards for rent at the CWSF ($30 for the week). Regions will be invoiced for backboard rentals after the fair.

The dimensions are:

• Middle: 81.3 x 101.6 cm (32 x 40 inches)
• Sides: 53.3 x 101.6 cm (21 x 40 inches)
• Title: 20.3 x 119.4 cm (47 x 8 inches)

Indicate that you prefer this option on the Project Info page in the CWSF online registration system. Finalists bring display materials and attach them to the backboard during setup.

Advantages: No transport of backboard required. Less expensive than shipping.

Disadvantages: Time-consuming and more difficult to produce a good looking display.

If you order a backboard it will be delivered directly to your table in the Exhibit Hall.

Backboard Rental Return

1. Remove all papers, tape and glue from the backboard, sideboards and header board.
2. Cut all plastic white ties holding the back to the sides (8 in total - 4 on each side).
3. Take off 2 clips that hold the header board in place.
4. Return all items to the backboard check-out area: 1 backboard, 2 sideboards, 1 header board, 2 metal clips.

Before you leave your materials, you must get the Backboard Rental Return Form signed by a Youth Science Canada representative.

Youth Science Canada Policies

Youth Science Canada has policies governing the use of human participants, animals (vertebrate and invertebrate) and animal parts in research by young scientists (elementary and secondary school students). Ideally these policies are consulted prior to beginning work on the project; however, even if they have not been, they define what is acceptable at the Canada-Wide Science Fair.

Policy Directory.

Help us encourage Canada’s young scientists to conduct ethical and sound research.A detailed presentation of the rules for the use of animals and the participation of humans is available.

Ethics Presentation

Use of Human Subjects

Participation of Humans in Research - Low Risk

All human participants in scientific research must give Informed Consent, which comprises consent, confidentiality and the right to withdraw. Class surveys of attitudes, beliefs or skill tests, such as “Do my classmates remember better if they read while listening to jazz or hip hop?” may be termed Low Risk, as defined in the Participation of Humans in Research - Low Risk (Policy 4.1.1.1).

For Low Risk projects, completion of the simple Participation of Humans - Low Risk (Form 4.1A)Approvalby the student’s adult supervisor is usually sufficient to ensure that the appropriate ethical issues have been addressed. Be aware, however, that not all such surveys are low risk. For example, a survey to measure the Body Mass Index of class members could affect participants’ self-esteem and would therefore be classified as Significant Risk.

Low Risk - Form 4.1A

Participation of Humans in Research - High Risk

The Participation of Humans in Research - Significant Risk (Policy 4.1.1.2) establishes what constitutes a drug and specifies that drugs and invasive procedures may only be used in a science project experiment under the direction of a qualified Scientific Supervisor.

Effective October, 2010, sensory food projects (i.e., those designed only to assess the sensory characteristics of a food or drink), within certain restrictions (e.g., not involving "energy drinks"), are the only ingestion projects considered to be low risk. Significant risk ingestion projects are only allowed at the CWSF if carried out under professional supervision at a laboratorywith its own internal Ethics Review Committee, such asa university or hospital laboratory. Projects in which human participants, including the student researcher, are required to consume a substance or apply a substance to the skin must be carefully reviewed for compliance with the indicated Humans in Research policies before any testing begins.

All projects involving human participants in ways other than surveys and skill tests are considered Significant Risk. For Significant Risk projects, the more detailed Participation of Humans - Significant Risk Approval (Form 4.1B) must be completed, and the indicated approval procedures must be followed.

High Risk - Form 4.1B

Use of Animals (Vertebrate and Invertebrate)

All experimental care and use of animals in Canada is subject to the requirements of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC), a national, peer-review organization founded in Ottawa in 1968. CCAC documentation states: “Youth Science Canada, amongst its responsibilities, regulates animal experimentation in science fairs.”

Research using vertebrate animals for science fair projects may only be carried out in one of four ways:

• Observations
• Behavioural studies with positive rewards, without anystress involved
• Any project carried out in a university, medical orindustrial laboratory and approved by the appropriateScientific Review Board
• Experiments on embryos – These experiments aresubject to the same rules that apply to the animal producing the embryos. Studies of mammalian embryos are restricted to observation without intervention with drugs or other chemicals.
• Research involving cephalopods (cuttlefish, nautilus, octopus, squid, etc.) must follow the same rules as for vertebrates above. Research on all other invertebrate animals is presently unrestricted, except that the project must have some scientific or educational merit and be judged to be ethical.

The Use of Animals in Research (Policy 4.1.2) establishes what constitutes a drug and specifies that drugs may only be used in a science project experiment under the direction of a qualified Scientific Supervisor.

Form 4.1C Animals - Approvalis used to ensure that the appropriate review of projects involving animals has taken place.

Animals - Form 4.1C

A reminder

Each Youth Science Canada-affiliated region is expected to set up a Regional Science Fair Ethics Committee (Policy 3.1.1.3) – even if it’s a committee of only one person – who will undertake to become knowledgeable in the rules and ethical issues surrounding student research.

Regional Science Fair Ethics

• The science fair project is the student’s work. The mentor’s role is to provide advice and guidance, not to take charge of the project.
• A mentor’s time is valuable. The student should be punctual and prepared to make valuable use of his or her time with the mentor.
• If a student is working in the mentor’s lab, then he or she must be given the safety rules and necessary safety training.
• For the protection of the mentor and the student, all meetings should be held in the presence of others during business hours, at the student’s school in the presence of a teacher or staff member, or at another location with a parent or guardian present.
• Students must take the initiative to contact the mentor and make all arrangements, such as transportation, meeting times, provision of supplies, etc.
• The student is responsible for doing all of his or her own work except where safety or regulations prohibit this.
• All projects are required to declare whether the project involved a mentor and if yes, answer a few questions about the role of the mentor and his/her role in the project.

Responsibilities of Students

It is the student’s role, and not the mentor’s, to conceive the project’s specific topic. All data taking must be the student’s own, unless the student does not represent it as his or her own and credits the actual data taker properly. Similarly, analysis of the data, the write-up of the project, and any public presentation of thereof are also exclusively the student’s responsibility. A student undertaking a mentored project has the responsibility to disclose that her/his project was mentored and by whom. An accurate description of the level and nature of the mentorship, role of the mentor, the setting(s) in which work was done, and how the project topic was conceived is expected to be included in the Project Report.

Responsibilities of Mentors

Mentors may be academic or professional scientists or engineers, graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, teachers, parents or, sometimes, other students. When a mentor works with a student in any setting, he or she should always keep in mind that the project is the student’s, both in its selection and its undertaking, and not the mentor’s. The mentor’s job is multifold:

• to assist/guide students in identifying project topics that address meaningful scientific questions while avoiding those that “re-invent the wheel” or the testing of whose hypotheses would add nothing to scientific knowledge;
• when there is mutual agreement that student will carry out the project in an institutional setting with access to specialized equipment and highly qualified personnel, to provide the student with a suite of project themes or topics that would make wise use of the available resources and would not require resources that are unavailable to the supervisor;
• to assist students in the gathering of salient background information;
• to teach students the techniques and skills they will need to test their project’s purpose or hypothesis;
• to critique constructively the publication of the work (clarity and logic of the Project Report, display, and oral summary);
• to ensure the safety of all concerned throughout the project;
• to provide upon request and in a timely fashion: documentation describing their mentoring/supervisory role; a brief description of the project including how it was selected and how it fits into the research projects/topics under investigation as part of his/her ongoing research program; and any constraints that preclude the student from carrying out certain components of the lab work associated with the project (e.g., student is a minor, use of lab equipment or instrument requiring high-level of training or certification for operation, safety or insurance restrictions);
• to provide solid mentoring models for their students by upholding the ethical values and academic integrity that underpin mentoring, the scientific enterprise, and scientific competitions such as science fairs.

Responsibilities of Judges

Some in the science fair community feel that mentorship confers an unfair advantage on science fair projects. Judges must be sensitive to these concerns and ensure that judging focuses on students’ scientific thought, understanding and creativity. Some projects involving the use of sophisticated or expensive equipment and exotic materials are scientifically simple and less creative than projects using more common materials. Some judges can be unduly impressed by sophisticated equipment or materials, while others may be unduly impressed by the project carried out by a lone student in his/her garage using only household or commonly available materials. In all cases it is essential to look beyond the setting in which a project was carried out and to evaluate what science the student has actually done. Many, perhaps a majority, of science fair judges are involved in professional science and thus have an understanding of the nature of mentoring in the scientific enterprise and have some degree of experience in evaluating the scientific merit of work in this context. Judges with this background and experience have a responsibility to enlighten and assist judges who have no such context or experience. It is most often the case that a team of judges will be evaluating a group of projects, each of which has a different level of mentoring and one or more of which may be non-mentored. In this context judges have the following responsibilities:

• to avoid with diligence any biases for or against mentored versus non-mentored projects;
• to identify carefully, via documents provided by the student(s) and face-to-face discussion, the level and nature of any mentorship;
• to assess the degree and accuracy to which the student(s) disclosed and described any mentoring;
• to assess thoroughly the degree of independence in: topic selection; design of the study, experiment, or innovation; project undertaking; analysis of data; and project write-up;
• to assess the level of scientific understanding of the project and its scientific context displayed by the student(s);
• to assess and rank a project on the creativity of its concept; on scientific merit of its design and results, on the level of scientific understanding displayed by its author(s), the clarity of communications and dissemination; and, in the case of mentored projects, on the degree of independence from the mentor(s), all in relation to the age/grade-level of the student(s).

Data from the CWSF 2010

During Registration at the CWSF 2010, each finalist was asked to rank the level of mentoring received on a scale of 0 to 5:

1. I did not receive any mentoring.
2. I exchanged a few emails or phone calls, and/or met with my mentor once or twice to discuss my ideas.
3. I had occasional contact with my mentor by email or phone, and/or met occasionally with my mentor who provided some advice or materials.
4. I had regular contact with my mentor by email or phone, and/or met regularly with my mentor who provided advice, materials, assistance with design/testing, or data analysis.
5. I had regular face-to-face contact with my mentor and regular access to advice, materials, space, equipment, design/testing, or other personnel in a specialized facility.
6. I worked closely with my mentor over an extended period of time to develop the project idea, plan and conduct the research/development, and analyze the results or test the innovation.

The histogram below shows the level of mentoring received by each of the award groups.

One of the concerns often expressed regarding mentoring is that a highly mentored project has a better chance of winning an award than a project that is not mentored. The data below demonstrates that this was not the case at the CWSF 2010. In each of the award groups, one third or more of the winners indicated that they received no mentoring. With the exception of the Platinum Awards which comprise only three projects, each award group had all six mentoring levels represented.

It’s quite an honour for students to be selected to attend our country’s most prestigious science fair: the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF). Your child certainly deserves recognition for this accomplishment, and that’s exactly what we intend to do this May when your young scientist joins us in Prince Edward Island.

The Host Committee members for CWSF 2012 are already hard at work to make sure that the experience all student finalists have in Charlottetown will be memorable for all the right reasons—new experiences, outstanding activities and friendships to last a lifetime. This will be the first time in 51 years that the CWSF takes place in our province, so it will be an event for us to remember too.

Our primary goal is to provide a secure and safe environment for all students at CWSF 2012 while allowing them to enjoy their experience to the utmost. To keep track of registered participants and manage access to the events, all participants, including adult chaperones (delegates) and volunteers, are required to display their CWSF 2012 photo identification badges during all activities from start to end of the fair (May 12 to 19).

Meals at the University of Prince Edward Island campus will be prepared by Chartwells. The Host Committee and Youth Science Canada have taken feedback from past fairs into account to ensure that menus will satisfy finalists and suit their dietary requirements. Please note special dietary needs during the online registration process and notify your delegate (the adult team leader from your region who accompanies the finalists) of any medical issues, allergies, disabilities, etc.

Please ensure that your child understands that the adults appointed by his/her regional science fair (known as the delegate and alternate delegates) are acting on your behalf, and that your child must have any activity approved by that adult before proceeding. It is vital to your child’s safety and well being that we have delegates and alternate delegates fulfill this parental role at CWSF 2012. It is equally important that your child recognize their authority as well as that of any authorised CWSF officials or appointed delegates, who are ensuring a safe environment for everyone’s sake.

As part of the arrival process, everyone (student finalists and delegates alike) will attend an orientation session to learn about emergency procedures, safety, and expectations for behaviour. An emergency contact list will also be provided to all participants.

Further CWSF 2012 details will be posted on this website in the months ahead, so simply review the content as May 2012 approaches. If you have any questions or require more information between now and then, please refer to the contact details on the CWSF 2012 website. During the week of the fair, this website will also feature daily blogs to help you to keep up with many of the activities your young scientist is experiencing.

We look forward to hosting your young scientist and plan to make this event a safe, enjoyable, and educational experience for everyone!

Bill Whelan and Andrew Trivett, co-chairs, 2012 CWSF Host Committee

Once your Regional Science Fair has selected its projects for the Canada-Wide Science Fair, one of the most important tasks is to ensure that the displays comply with Youth Science Canada’s Project Displays policy. Before being approved for competition at the CWSF, each project must pass an inspection and safety check. Taking a little time at the regional level to ensure that the display is built correctly can save considerable time and grief at the CWSF, where projects must be modified (or in rare cases reconstructed) if they do not pass inspection.

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

Complete details are contained in Policy 3.1.2.5 CWSF Project Displays. The following information provides a summary of the display safety requirements. CWSF finalists and delegates are reminded that they should familiarize themselves with the CWSF Project Displays policy prior to preparing for the CWSF.

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; however, a limited number of separate display spaces may be provided for oversized innovations. These must be requested by a Regional Coordinator in advance.

Backboard and Display Materials

The CWSF fire safety regulations for project backboards and displays are much tougher than at most Regional Science Fairs. Be sure to follow these rules carefully. Your display will be inspected as part of the safety check, and backboards/displays not meeting these standards will have to be reconstructed from approved materials. Rebuilding a display at the CWSF is stressful and upsetting, but completely avoidable. Build it right the first time!

Backboards and title boards must be constructed of the following materials: wood products and dimensional lumber at least 6 mm (0.25 inch) thick, Sintra, InteFoam, Intecell, flame- rated corrugated products, metal, Plexiglas/acrylic or any other material that meets the UL-94 standard and bears a factory- attached UL-94 label.

Backboards and title boards constructed of the following materials are specifically prohibited:Coroplast, foam board (plastic foam sandwiched between sheets of paper product), paper products, plastic sheeting and foamed polystyrene (Styrofoam).

Backboard panels may be painted with any common paint. Other coating materials (e.g., fabric) must be UL-approved and proof of such approval is required.

CPVC pipe may be used in project displays as a backboard frame provided the pipe has the CSA code B137 on it or a UL- 94 equivalent rating. ABS pipe may be used in projects as a backboard frame provided the pipe has the CSA code B1811 on it or a UL-94 equivalent rating.

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 inside any buildings at the CWSF, though their use is still permitted outdoors. This is particularly relevant for finalists who plan to assemble their display at the fair.

Adhesives and tools for assembly of project displays will be available at no charge from the tool crib located in the exhibit hall. Airlines prohibit the transportation of aerosol containers and flammable materials (including many adhesives) in baggage or hand luggage, plus most liquids, creams, gels and tools in hand luggage.

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

Form 4.1A_Humans_Low_Risk-EN.pdf is required if your project involved the use of human subjects and the project meets the criteria for low risk, as defined in Youth Science Canada Policy 4.1.1.1 - [Participation of Humans in Research - Low Risk] (i.e., the project involves a survey of attitudes and beliefs, skill tests, or observations of behaviour withthe participants’ consent where there is minimal risk to the participant).

Form 4.1B_Humans_Significant_Risk-EN.pdf is required if your project involved the use of human subjects in an experiment involving significant risk, but the project does not meet the criteria for low risk as defined in Youth Science Canada Policy 4.1.1.2 - [Participation of Humans in Research - Significant Risk].

Form 4.1C_Animals-EN.pdf is required if your project involved any use of animals or animal parts. Refer to Youth Science Canada Policy 4.1.2 - [Use of Animals in Research] for details.

All required forms must be downloaded and completed using the free Adobe Reader software. After the form has been filled out on the computer, it should be saved and then uploaded to the online registration system.

To upload the saved form, go to the "Project Forms" area and then click the "Browse" button below the red “No file uploaded” message bar. Locate and select the saved form,and then click “Open” to confirm your selection. (If you have done this correctly, text showing the file location will appear in the box to the left of the "Browse" button.) Finally, click the "Save and Upload Forms" button to upload the file.

After any project form has been saved and uploaded, it must be printed and then signed as required. Bring the signed form(s) to the CWSF as they will be verified during the Safety Check. Unlike previous years, these project forms should not be faxed or mailed in advance of the CWSF.

Fire Safety

The Host Committee will ensure that fire extinguishers of proper size and rating are available in the exhibit area and will establish an exhibit hall layout that minimizes long rows to reduce the possibility of flame spread.

Operation of an open flame, candle, torch or any other heating device is not permitted. Smoking is not permitted in the exhibit area.

Packing material shall not be stored under tables.

Electrical Safety

All AC electrical equipment used in your display must have a functional three-wire plug with ground or be CSA approved. Extension cords, power bars and lighting must be CSA approved.

Electrical cords shall have a three-wire conductor with ground and must be CSA approved and in good repair.

Any modification to an electrical device negates the CSA approval, and that device must not be used. Dry cells (Alkaline, NiCad, NiMH, LiIon, etc.) and sealed lead-acid batteries (gel cells) may be used. Wet cell batteries are not permitted.

Electrical devices constructed by finalists must comply with the following requirements to be approved for display. As they cannot be CSA approved, these devices may only be connected and operated during judging.

• Electrical devices must be protected by a non-combustible enclosure.
• An insulating grommet is required at the point where electrical service enters an enclosure.
• Electrical devices shall use as low a voltage as possible.
• The electric current must be limited so as not to cause any danger or discomfort if the terminals are touched.
• A pilot light must be used to indicate when power is on.

Structural and Mechanical Safety

Exhibits must be sturdy, self-supporting and sufficiently stable to prevent accidental tipping.

Sharp edges or corners of prisms, mirrors, enclosures and glass or metal plates that may be contacted by the public must be removed or protected to prevent injury.

Dangerous moving parts such as belts, gears, pulleys and blades must be provided with a guard to prevent access to the moving parts.

An in-running nip hazard of any part of a motor, device or thing that may be a danger shall be guarded to prevent contact with the pinch point.

A certificate of safety inspection must be displayed if a project involves the construction or use of a boiler or pressure vessel with a capacity greater than 42.5 litres or operated at a pressure greater than 103 kilopascals. Evidence of inspection by an engineer with certification in boilers and pressure vessels should be displayed when the project involves any finalist- constructed pressure vessel, regardless of size or pressure. Such vessels may be displayed but must not be pressurized at any time.

Compressed gas cylinders shall not be displayed.

Moving exhibits (e.g., radio-controlled vehicles, robots) shall be restricted to the regulation display space. The Host Committee may, at its discretion, provide an area to safely demonstrate projects that require more than the regulation display space.

Chemical Safety

The following materials shall not be displayed:

• Flammable, toxic or dangerous chemicals
• Prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications

Photographs or empty packages of prohibited materials may be displayed.

The display of chemicals is discouraged; however, other substances can be used to simulate chemicals for display purposes:

• Table salt can be used to simulate many chemicals, such as ammonium nitrate.
• Water can represent alcohol, ether and many other liquids. Molasses can be used to simulate petroleum products.
• When chemicals are simulated, they should be identified with the name of the substance they represent, preceded by the word “simulated.” Any WHMIS labels (supplier or workplace) should be attached to show understanding of safe work practices.

The total quantity of liquids displayed at a project shall not exceed 1 litre. Photographs and/or video should be used to demonstrate processes requiring larger quantities of liquid.

Biohazards

The following materials shall not be displayed:

• Biological toxins
• Cell or tissue samples including blood and blood products, except on sealed microscope slides, which may be displayed
• Plants or plant tissue
• Soil containing organic material
• Cultures – Photographs or simulated cultures may be used.

Shipping in advance is preferred

• Due to airline baggage restrictions, excess baggage fees and small aircraft size/weight limitations; whenever possible, projects should be shipped well in advance to PEI.
• Project shipments will not be received before May 1, 2012
• Print a CWSF Shipping Label and attach to every shipped item

Put Shipping labels on All Project Packages

• You must have a CWSF shipping label clearly visible on all project packages, regardless of how they are getting to the CWSF.
• Write the project number in the space provided on the label to ensure that the package can be delivered to your table in the Exhibit Hall.
• Find the Project Number (six digits) by clicking “Project Info” in the To-Do List in the left menu of the online system.

Stepping Up is a guide for students who have completed a science fair project and competed at a regional or Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF). It is intended to help these students take their project to the next level - to compete for a CWSF medal or a place on Team Canada-ISEF.

The guide is written by alumni of the Canada Wide Science Fair and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Lia D'Abate, Lisa-Marie Assenza, Arif Ali Awan, Tahbit Chowdhury, Jean-Philippe Demers, Eden Full, Cherry Gao, Aaron Hakim, Taneille Johnson, Kartik Madiraju, Nadia Novikova, Mubdi Rahman, Natalie Raso, Nikhita Singh, and Kari Vierimaa) and is a project of Youth Science Canada through its SMARTS and Alumni initiatives. We graciously thank the Conseil de développement du loisir scientifique for their assistance with the translation of this guide into French.

To get started with the guide, choose any of the sections below, or click the "Getting Started with Stepping Up" for more detailed information!

Stepping Up Guide

No registration for tours is required. Every CWSF 2012 participant will spend the tour day (Wednesday) visiting the following attractions on a motorcoach with a tour guide. At 5:30 pm, participants will return to UPEI. Wednesday night is a free evening to explore Charlottetown. Each participant will be given $15 cash for dinner at a local restaurant.

Province House

Participants will visit the birthplace of Confederation and the home of the present provincial Legislature.

Anne of Green Gables House

A replica of the house that was the inspiration for Lucy Maud Montgomery’s famous story of the red haired orphan. Participants will be able to tour the house and the grounds and watch a film depicting the life of the famous author.

Cavendish Beach

Participants will get the chance to dip their fingers (and toes if you dare) into the waters of the north shore. Walk along the beach and collect shells and driftwood or search for the elusive sea glass.

Confederation Bridge

The parts for the bridge were constructed on site and moved into the Northumberland Strait. This bridge is the longest bridge over ice covered waters. It was opened in 1997 and spans 13 kilometers from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. Participants will visit the base of the bridge and see the remains of the railroad tracks on display.

Gateway Village - Cavendish Figurines

Participants will tour the factory where the figurines are made and then will have time to tour the shops in this quaint village. Check out the unique plaques listing the workers who worked in the construction of the Confederation Bridge.

Cow’s Factory Tour

After touring the facility where the Cow’s cheese and world famous ice cream are produced and where the t-shirts are screen-printed, participants will have a chance to have their picture taken beside the Cow’s mascot - a 10 foot fiberglass cow.