TAASF / TISSF RULES
Whom do the fairs serve?
Our middle and high school students attend public, private, charter, parochial or home schools outside the United States, and are unable to compete in English in an ISEF-affiliated fair.
TAASF serves students from the United States who study in any country without an ISEF affiliated fair. The only exceptions are those in Germany and Japan who contact the Fair Director.
TISSF serves all other students living in countries without an ISEF affiliated fair.
BOTH fairs will accept ONLY students unable to compete for ISEF in the countries in which they live.
Is there no ISEF affiliate in your country at all? Then apply for TAASF/TISSEF today!
FAIR RULE: A student will not compete in TAASF or TISSF if they know they are not eligible, or if they have already competed in an ISEF affiliate in this fair cycle. Their adult sponsor will verify this.
Who competes in what?
Topic Presentation (TOPIC) students prepare models or informative reports. TOPIC students do NO experiments, collect NO data, and make NO improvements to their models. This is the only category that will accept teams of four students.
Research and Engineering Design (RED) students conduct an experiment and collect data using the scientific method (Research) or develop a technique, tool or machine with documented repeated tests and improvements (Engineering Design).
Who does the work?
- Students are encouraged to seek help and guidance from adults and from resources such as Science Buddies. However, ALL WORK MUST BE DONE BY THE STUDENT. In those cases in which safety issues preclude a student's using a process or piece of equipment, the adult who completes that portion of the work will be cited, and the BALANCE of the work will be completed by the student.
- If there is any evidence of plagiarism, the student(s) will be immediately removed from the competition. The Director's decision is final.
FAIR RULE: Every student in TAASF and TISSF will affirm that they have done all the work in their project except when safety issues require an adult's action. Their adult sponsor will verify this during their registration.
FAIR RULE: Every student and adult connected with TAASF and TISSF will affirm that they will be respectful of fellow participants, the judges, and the Fair officials.
How do we know the work is done safely?
- RED high school students submit paperwork to the Scientific Review Committee via this zFairs interface to document how they plan and conduct their research, the adults who provide the appropriate supervision, and the measures taken to protect the welfare of the students, their subjects, and their environment.
- Use this SRC Rules Wizard to determine the forms required to complete and submit your research to TAASF/TISSF.
- Every RED student should complete Forms 1, 1A, their abstract, and 1B BEFORE they begin their research. If those forms were not avaialble at that time, they may use their research records and emails to trace the appropriate dates for each form.
- While students may download the forms to preview them, note that the Fairs ask that they all be completed and signed online.
- Middle school RED and all TOPIC students complete a single Topic Presentation Permission Form documenting their parent's or guardian's permission to participate in the Fair.
FAIR RULE: Every student in TAASF and TISSF will affirm that the signatures they have secured and the dates on their forms are accurate. Their adult sponsor will verify this during their registration.
Additionally:
FAIR RULE: Every student in TAASF and TISSF will affirm that they understand the decisions of our judges are final.Their adult sponsor will also make this affirmation.
About Us
The Terra Americans Abroad STEM Fair and Terra International Students STEM Fair were funded and managed by Terra Science and Education. Staff and funding have been transferred to GENIUS Olympiad.
What to Expect During the Fair
TAASF and TISSF are conducted in March as a combined Virtual Fair. You can expect the fair to include:
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opportunities before, during and after the fair to connect virtually with fellow students as well as interesting adults from science, technology, engineering and math fields;
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a virtual Exhibit Hall in which students, teachers and other interested people can view your work;
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careful and detailed review of all your submitted work by qualified judges in First Round Judging;
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child-safe* virtual spaces for Second Round Judging in which students present their work in real time to an array of judge team captains and specialists;
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a fascinating presentation in honor of the students in the Fair;
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the Terra Fairs Awards Ceremony celebrating your achievements.
In order to allow plenty of time for judging and processing of results, we have set aside the month of March for TAASF/TISSF. The date and time of the Awards Ceremony in April will be announced by mid March.
Scores from First Round and judge deliberation following Second Round will determine the awards, from being advanced to the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) or GENIUS Olympiad, to Fair Honors, Commendations, cash prizes, and dozens of Special Awards. The results of the fair are announced at the Awards Ceremony.
* Child safety is a top priority. For the live Second Round Judging, students will not be able to enter their virtual Judging Room until two adults are present.
TOPIC
ALL TOPIC PRESENTATIONS CHOOSE THIS AS THEIR CATEGORY.
This project presents student literature reviews, a STEM topic of interest to the student, or a model to which no improvements have been made.
>>>> NO experiment has been done.
>>>> NO data has been collected.
>>>> NO modifications have been made to any model.
TOPIC Presentations do NOT require SRC/IRB review. They submit a one-page checklist with parent/guardian/teacher signatures.
5th Grade Research and Engineering Design
These 5th graders have collected data in an experiment or made successive modifications to improve a machine, model, or software. No data? Just a model with no changes? Register for the TOPIC category.
6th Grade Research and Engineering Design
These 6th graders have collected data in an experiment or made successive modifications to improve a machine, model, or software. No data? Just a model with no changes? Register for the TOPIC category.
7th Grade Research and Engineering Design
These 7th graders have collected data in an experiment or made successive modifications to improve a machine, model, or software. No data? Just a model with no changes? Register for the TOPIC category.
8th Grade Research and Engineering Design
These 8th graders have collected data in an experiment or made successive modifications to improve a machine, model, or software. No data? Just a model with no changes? Register for the TOPIC category.
Behavioral / Cognitive
Behavioral and social sciences
Cognitive science
Environmental
Earth and environmental sciences
Environmental engineering
Life Science
Animal sciences
Biochemistry
Cellular and molecular biology
Medical sciences
Microbiology
Plant biology
Mathematical / Computational
Computational systems and analysis
Mathematical sciences
Software
Robotics
Physical Sciences
Aerodynamics/hydrodynamics
Alternative energy
Applied mechanics and structures
Chemistry
Electronics and electromagnetics
Engineering (chemical, electrical, mechanical, process)
Materials science
Physics and astronomy
Robotics (hardware)
Withdrawn
IF A STUDENT WILL NOT BE PARTICIPATING IN JUDGING, the administrators will change their category to "withdrawn" so the data can be retrieved, but judging teams will not be assigned to them.
Judge Qualifications
- Senior Research and Engineering Design (Sr RED)
Bachelors or above in a STEM field or education, or journeymen status in the Skilled Trades.
- Junior Research and Engineering Design (Jr RED)
Topic Presentation
Special Awards
High school diploma
Judge Recruitment Flyer 2023
Judging Criteria
Below are the Rubrics guiding our fair judges. Judges will use an online interface adjusting this rubric to accommodate asynchronous First Round judging. In Second Round judging, judges also consider the ability of the student(s) to explain their work to those outside their field of research, the clarity they demonstrate in answering questions, and their demonstration of knowing how their work fits into the body of knowledge and current research in their field.
JudgingRubrics.pdf