Local schools that would like to participate in the Beal Bank USA Southern Nevada Regional Science & Engineering Fair (SNRSEF) are recommended to hold their school science fairs according to our recommended dates.

Elementary School Divisions and Awards

• Grades K-5
• Each school may submit a maximum of 12 science fair projects and 12 inventions (it is recommended schools with extensive science research programs hold a fair internally to select projects which will be entered into SNRSEF).
• Kindergarten and 1st grade may submit a class project under a teacher name.
• Team projects are allowed a maximum of three students.
• Number of awards will be based on number of projects in a particular category and at the discretion of the fair director.

Middle School Divisions and Awards

• Grades 6-8
• Each school may submit a maximum of 12 science fair projects and 12 inventions, any grade level or category. It is recommended schools with extensive science research programs hold a fair internally to select projects which will be entered into SNRSEF.
• Science fair projects are divided into two categories: life sciences and physical sciences.
• Team projects are allowed a maximum of three students.
• Number of awards will be based on number of projects in a particular category and at the discretion of the fair director.
• SNRSEF has discretion to nominate top projects for grades 6-8 to the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge through the Society for Science. Any projects nominated will be notified by the end of March. It is up to students to submit the required materials to participate in the Junior Innovators Challenge.

It is expected that any projects dealing with vertebrate animals, human subjects, hazardous chemicals, or bio-hazards will be approved by an Internal Review Board (IRB) at the school level prior to beginning experimentation to ensure student researcher safety, animal and human subject safety, as well as compliance with all state and federal laws in regards to scientific research. Should there be any question regarding the experimentation process that a school level IRB can not answer the teacher should reach out to our fair director for help from our Scientific Review Committee (SRC) in determining if the project should move forward.

Students must register via our registration site google form before the listed deadline for the current year.

Use of Petri Dishes

Using petri dishes or cell culture dishes can be dangerous and harmful to participants and those around them if not handled in the correct manner or supervised by a qualified individual. Projects that involve the use of petri dishes should be approved within the school before experimentation to make sure proper handling is observed. If teachers don't feel they have the proper training and/or experience to oversee the project it should be overseen by a medical doctor, or another adult with a PhD in the sciences.