Thank you for your interest in becoming a judge for the OCSEF.
The Orange County Science & Engineering Fair (OCSEF) is an annual event organized to encourage the youth of our county in grades 6-12 to experience STEM by conducting a project and to consider a career in science, math, computer science, or engineering. Judges play a critical role in the student’s science fair experience. Your judging can affect students profoundly, sometimes altering their career choices and almost always influencing their attitudes toward science and technology.
The 2024 OCSEF Board Award Judging Program will be conducted virtually on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
Judges evaluate projects and interview students to determine which projects merit receiving awards in their category. Each year several hundred students present projects at the OCSEF and judging is the culmination of their hard work. As a judge, you become an important part of their learning, and your encouragement has an impact on their view of science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM).
The student interviews are the highlight of the OCSEF. It is an opportunity for students to showcase their work to the judges and for the judges to create a positive and welcoming experience for the students. Our goal is to make the OCSEF a memorable experience for the 6th – 12th grade students who participate and, hopefully, provide a spark to pursue more education and careers in one of the STEM fields.
OCSEF Judging Programs
Board Awards
All student projects entered in the OCSEF are evaluated for OCSEF Board Awards in one of twenty project categories in either the Junior Division (Grades 6-8) or Senior Division (Grades 9-12).
Requirements: Scientists, engineers, educators, whether currently working or retired, who are interested in encouraging the young people of Orange County to consider a career in science or engineering. Minimum requirements are a Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field or five years working experience in a STEM field.
Judging Application
To become an OCSEF Board Award Judge, please click on the link below and complete the application to be added to our database.
OCSEF Judges – 2024 Application
General Instructions
Complete the entire application if you are a first-time OCSEF Judge or if you have not judged in the last three years.
Section 1: Contact information (Everyone complete this section.)
Section 2: Identify your judging preferences for the 2024 OCSEF. (Skip this section if you are NOT going to judge for OCSEF this year.)
Section 3: Review the “Additional Information” section and update any information that has changed if you are a returning judge. Answer all questions if you are a first-time OCSEF Judge or have not judged in the last three years.
Be sure to scroll to the end of Section 3 and hit “Submit.”
The OCSEF is divided into two Divisions: Senior Division (Grades 9-12) and Junior Division (Grades 6-8). Each Division contains 20 Categories. Select your Category preference and two alternate choices based on your interest and experience.
Board Award Judging Program Organization
Judges work in a team with others. First-time Judges will team with more experienced Judges. Each Judge individually evaluates projects in their category and participates as part of a team in student interviews. Judges convene as a team to deliberate and decide which projects merit receiving awards in their category.
Each team is led by a Judging Captain who coordinates the activities of the Judges assigned to their category. This includes assigning judges to teams, reviewing the judging objectives and policies for evaluating projects, leading the deliberations on awards at the end of the day and reporting the awards results to the Director of Judging.
Judging the Virtual Fair – Timeline and Responsibilities
The 2024 OCSEF will be conducted virtually. Students will upload a slide deck describing the key elements of their projects to the OCSEF Survey Monkey platform. Judges will review no more than 12 projects in their category online, at their convenience, before the student interviews. The judging team will conduct student interviews.
Timeline
Friday March 1, 2024, 6 pm. – Open portal for Judges to review projects in their category.
Monday March 4, 2024, 6 pm – Close portal.
Wednesday March 6, 2024, 1:30pm to 6pm: Project Judging for Board Awards (Zoom), with Orientation/Meet Your Panel Judges – 1:30 pm to 2 pm, Student Interviews –2 pm to 5 pm and Awards Deliberations – 5 pm to 6 pm.
Sunday March 10, 2024: Awards Ceremony at Chapman University. Judges are welcome to participate.
The OCSEF Board of Directors thank you for your interest and your participation.
Past OCSEF judges say
“Thank you very much for allowing me to participate in this event as a judge. I had a great time reading the abstracts and was thrilled to see the projects as well as speak to the students. I would definitely be interested in joining you next year so do keep me in mind.”
“I thank you for a wonderful day! I had a great time meeting and working with all of my fellow judges.”
“I am greatly encouraged to see such enthusiasm for science and engineering with these youngsters. They are our future, the best and the brightest. I will indeed be a part of the next cycle as a judge.”
“I am greatly encouraged to see such enthusiasm for science and engineering with these youngsters. They are our future, the best and the brightest. I will indeed be a part of the next cycle as a judge.”
It may be selfish, but we tend to feel great when we help others. Perhaps it’s the joy we see on their faces when we’ve accomplished a huge task for them, or the fact that we also gain a lot out of these experiences in terms of friends, contacts, and experience. Either way, volunteering is a rewarding experience which benefits ourselves and organizations alike.
– John Grant