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- Classification, categories and types
Classification, categories and types
Once you’ve found your project idea, you need to determine the classification, category, a type of the project you intend to present.
Classification:
Your Science Fair project will fall into one of five classifications, depending on your academic level:
| Level | Class |
|---|---|
| All primary school grades | Juvenile |
| Secondary I and II | Junior |
| Secondary III and IV | Intermediate |
| Secondary V and 1st year CÉGEP (pre-university program only) | Senior 1 |
| 2nd year CÉGEP (pre-university) or 1st, 2nd and 3rd year CÉGEP (technical program), or 1st year university | Senior 2* |
*Students in a CÉGEP technical program and first-year university students are not eligible for the Canada-Wide Science Fair or International Science Fair.
Categories:
Science Fair projects are divided into seven distinct categories.
Sciences that study the nature or functions of living beings, excluding the treatment of disease. These include anatomy, physiology, psychology, biology, botany, zoology, evolution and microbiology, among others.
Sciences that examine a biomedical or clinical aspect or health services and products destined for living beings.
Physical sciences: Sciences that aim to examine basic components of the universe; i.e., the natural sciences associated with the biophysical environment: the structure of matter, time, motion, forces, energy, heat, sound and light, etc. Chemistry and biochemistry are examples of physical sciences.
Mathematics: The sciences of deducing from numbers, focused on quantity, order, the study of abstract elements (e.g., numbers, geometric objects, functions) and the relationships among them.
Engineering: The various knowledge and techniques concerning the design, implementation and applications of procedures, devices and machines specific to a given field.
Computer sciences: The various techniques for creating, collecting, sorting, placing in memory, storing, transmitting and using information by means of programs (or software applications) executed by microprocessor-based systems, as well as the designing of those systems.
Sciences that study, the Earth and its spatial environment, all living and non-living factors likely to impact organisms and their environments. Example include pollution by blue-green algae, geology, meteorology, mineralogy, the solar system, satellites, etc.
Sciences that examine humans in society through various aspects.
For this category, exhibitors must ensure that projects clearly demonstrate a scientific approach making use of deductive reasoning and are not merely reflections presenting only their point of view or opinion.
The use of biological processes, mainly with micro-organisms, to produce goods and services excluding the treatment of disease. This includes biotechnological processes that benefit the environment. The effectiveness of biotechnology is rooted in the key techniques produced by the combined advances in biochemistry, chemistry, engineering, genetics, mathematics, microbiology, and physicis and its goal is to develop applications.
Type of project:
The type of Science Fair project refers to how you will deal with your subject. There are three approaches:
- Experimentation;
- Design;
- Study.
The Indispensable Guide and the L'XYZ des Expo-sciences au primaire (for primary school; in French) guide provide all the information you need about the differences between the three types of project.
From Study to Experimentation
Sometimes, an idea for Study project can easily be taken a bit further to become an Experimentation or Design project. Have a look at how some exhibitors succeeded in going so! (in French)
You can also read this document, which lists examples drawn from real projects (in French).
