Bring It! to the 2021 Maine State Science Fair
The Maine State Science Fair (MSSF) is an exciting opportunity for Maine high school students to pursue their interest in science and engineering and present results of their projects to fellow students and expert STEM professionals.
The 2021 Maine State Science Fair will take place Saturday, April 3, 2021, in a live, synchronous, online event.
MSSF is open to all students from all public, private, parochial and home schools (Grades 9-12) throughout Maine and is organized by The Jackson Laboratory and the Reach Center, a program of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance.
Student registration deadline is January 15, 2021.
Download results from the 2021 MSSF, including scholarships, category awards, special awards, and the Maine ISEF Finalists.
10 steps to the Maine State Science Fair
Your topic should be something that interests you and causes you to ask questions or stimulates your curiosity. Use science or engineering to solve a problem in your school or community. Ask questions about the topic. Do you know the answers? Does someone else know the answers? Investigate if other students have studied this topic.
What is already known about this topic? What questions are other people asking? What has yet to be discovered? Utilize background research resources in your school, library, online, or ask the experts. Document your findings in a literature review.
Ask your essential question and form your hypothesis. Boil your ideas down to a single question or problem. Write a hypothesis or begin to sketch out a design solution.
Students should register their project on Scienteer, a web-based science fair project submission and review system. Your teacher will provide you a registration link that is specific to students at your school. If your teacher does not have the registration link, send the MSSF directors an email.
The registration deadline is January 15.
Submit the required forms, online, using Scienteer.
If your project involves human participants, vertebrate animals, potentially hazardous biological agents or hazardous chemicals, activities, or devices, you must submit additional information and plans regarding research safety.
If you haven't created your Scienteer account, ask your teacher for the school-specific registration link.
The research plan deadline is February 1.
However, if your project involves hazardous materials, hazardous biological agents, human subjects, or vertebrate animals it is subject to prior review by the Scientific Review Committee. You will be electronically notified that you may proceed.
Projects NOT involving hazardous materials, hazardous biological agents, human subjects, or vertebrate animals may begin at any time — prior review by the Maine State Science Fair Scientific Review Committee is not required.
Begin experimentation. Record all data in your Data Notebook.
Once you have completed your experiment and recorded all data, submit the abstract form through Scienteer.
If the Maine State Science Fair is held online, students will have an opportunity to create a digital poster, slide deck, and/or a short video to describe their project.
Attend the Maine State Science Fair, present your project, ask great questions, and enjoy a day of discovery in STEM!
Contact MSSF
Email any questions to sciencefair@jax.org
Michael McKernan
Director, Maine State Science Fair
Program Director, STEM and Undergraduate Education
The Jackson Laboratory
207-288-6806
Stefany Burrell
STEM Education Specialist, The Reach Center
Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
207-626-3230 ext 122
Sponsors
The Maine State Science Fair is a cooperative program of The Jackson Laboratory and The Reach Center, a program of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance.
The 2021 Maine State Science Fair is made possible by the financial support of our generous sponsors.
Scholarship sponsors
Maine Community College System
