Registration Deadline Friday, December 5th

Link to Registration form: BCE Science Fair 2026 Registration Form
Students who register by December 5^th will receive a BCE Science Fair T-shirt.
Late registrations will be accepted, but these students may not receive a t-shirt.
There is no registration fee.

Display Due Date

Team Size

Students can work individually or in teams of 2-3 students within the same grade.
No team should exceed 3 members.
All team members must register individually so we get the right counts for t-shirts and ribbons.

Experiments

Experiments - a student asks an experimental question, forms and tests a hypothesis, and makes conclusions. Example: “I tested batteries to see which brand lasts the longest in a flashlight.”
All projects in Grades 3rd-5th grade must be experiments (not exhibits or engineering displays)
Please follow GARSEF guidelines for experiments - https://austinscience.org/images/pdfs/ElemHowToDoSciFairProj.pdf

Project Board Guidelines (Per GARSEF Elementary Handbook)

All student project boards must follow the guidelines in order to be allowed in the exhibit hall. Please see: GARSEF Sample Template
Project display should be on sturdy tri-fold board available at local craft and office supply stores.
Written material, drawings and pictures should be securely attached to the display board with glue or tape.
Do not use staples: they will poke out the back of the board.
Projects will be displayed on tables that are 36 inches high. Size of display area may not exceed the following measurements: 15” deep, 48” wide, and 60” high. Due to space limitations, displays that exceed these measurements cannot be accepted.
Electricity for your display will not be available, but you can use household batteries to power your project.

Allowed Items

Please use only paper on your project boards.
Students should take photographs of project steps as a visual explanation of their effort.
Students must ask permission before photographing other individuals for the display board.
Be sure to properly credit/list all sources of graphics and photographers on the display board (“Photograph/Visuals by . . .”) This includes images from websites.
Students may use a computer and printer for written parts of the project.

Items Not Allowed

Growing bacteria or mold of any type
Causing pain, suffering, sickness or death of an animal
No Expensive, breakable or fragile items
No organisms; living, dead or preserved
No water or chemicals, crystals, liquids
No hazardous chemicals or radioactive materials.
No human/animal parts or body fluids (for example, blood, feces or urine)
No human or animal food
No poisons, drugs, controlled or hazardous substances.
No sharp items (for example: syringes, needles, pipettes, knives, tacks, nails)
No glass or glass objects unless part of a commercial product (for example, a computer screen)
No pressurized tanks or containers
No batteries with open top cells (so that battery acid can be seen)
No dirt, soil, gravel, rocks, sand, waste products, etc.
No project, device, activity or substance that may be deemed hazardous to student safety
No firearms, explosives or discharge air pressure canister devices (i.e. potato guns)
No photographs or pictures of animals or people in surgical techniques, dissections or necropsies

Regionals

For Grades 3rd - 5th we can send 12-14 projects on to the Greater Austin Regional Science & Engineering Fair
For more information please see the GARSEF website: https://austinscience.org/elementary
Independent judges will determine the regional qualifiers ahead of our BCE Science Fair
No students will be present during judging and winners will be announced at the BCE Science Fair

A Big Thank You to our BCE 2026 Science Fair Sponsors

Still have questions or want to get involved

We'd love to have you on our committee, have a booth at the fair, or join us as a sponsor
Reach out to nayyar.nidhin@gmail.com

Highlights