GKCSEF Awards Ceremony 2019
March 23 - 26, 2022
Greater Kansas City Science & Engineering Fair
Science City at Union Station is proud to continue the tradition with the 71st Greater Kansas City Science & Engineering Fair to help our community grow a science, engineering, math and technology (STEM) literate workforce. The role of a Science & Engineering Fair in STEM education is increasing, as students learn about science and engineering practices by using them in their investigations. The experience of thousands of teachers and students across all grade levels and subject areas, backed by research, confirms that project-based learning is an effective and enjoyable way to learn the competencies required for success in career and civic life.
Thank you for your patience as we have moved to a virtual format.
The DEADLINE to submit your application to the Fair has now been extended to FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25th.
SENIOR DIVISION
YOU WILL BE USING STUDENT CORNER
You will create an account (or use last year’s) in order to register your project.
All attendees of the International Science & Engineering Fair MUST SHOW PROOF OF FULL VACCINATION in order to go to Atlanta for attending ISEF in person (this included educators and students). There will be a virtual option for those ISEF Finalists that are unable to attend in person.
INTERMEDIATE & JUNIOR DIVISIONS
You will use the following links: Please have your abstract, any forms, your proposal/paper and the $7.00 project fee ready to upload!
About | Schedule | Student & Registration | T-Shirt Design Contest | Gadberry Educator Award | Charles N. Kimball Awards Ceremony | Campbell Family Educator Grant
Union Station Kansas City is dedicated to science education, a celebration of community and preservation of history. We are proud to host the 71st Greater KC Science & Engineering Fair back IN PERSON and want to thank all the students, teachers, parents, mentors and volunteers who help make it a success!
Students in grades 4-12 from public, private, parochial, charter and home schools in 15 counties in and around the KC metro area are eligible to participate in the GKCSEF. The Fair is filled with exemplary projects developed by talented students, some of whom win a piece of the nearly $7,000 in awards and honors.
| Kansas | Missouri |
| Johnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Douglas, Franklin | Jackson, Bates, Cass, Clay, Platte, Henry, Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis, Benton |
Annually the very best senior-level projects that meet the stringent requirements for entering the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) win the prestigious GRAND AWARD. Grand Award winners and their teachers would normally receive an all-expense-paid trip to the 2022 Regeneron International Science & Engineering. Regeneron ISEF: The Next Generation of STEM Leaders: Every year, tens of millions of students participate in science fairs around the globe but only about 1,800 earn the right to compete for nearly $5 million awards bestowed each May at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).
A message to students: Thank you all for another inspiring Science & Engineering Fair! We know how much time it takes to plan, execute, and present a project for the Fair, and we applaud your dedication to contributing to the success of the 71st Greater Kansas City Science & Engineering Fair. The Fair has showcased thousands of student projects over the past 70 years, and many of those students have continued their studies and gone on to pursue a career in a STEM field. We want to welcome all of you to the Virtual GKCSEF Family.
A message to parents, teachers and mentors: Thank you for motivating your students, for guiding their curiosities, and for promoting critical thinking. Thank you for encouraging your children to ask questions, to push themselves, and to not give up in the face of failure-or an unexpected result…after all, that is part of the beauty of doing science. Your guidance and support is an integral part of the accomplishments of their projects, the success of this Fair, and most importantly the shaping of who the students will become.
Contact Emily Meyer for Sponsorship or Special Award information at [email protected]
Sign up to join our team of volunteer judges!
It is that time of year again when we ask that you so graciously consider donating your time to volunteer at this year’s 71st Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held in person March 23 – 26th, 2022 at Union Station.
Union Station is known for its resiliency in the face of adversity throughout the years, so we wish to draw upon this as we move forward to host this prestigious event in person for the first time in three years, since Spring of 2019.
Donating just a few hours to this cause will help to re-establish the GKCSEF as one of the premier science fairs in the United States and most importantly, showcase the region’s finest and most innovative projects our youth have to offer. Past winners from the Kansas City area are already changing the world for the better, a recent example of this being the groundbreaking work done to detect early-onset Parkinson’s Disease using a computer algorithm developed by one of our local high school students.
We intend on following the guidelines issued by the CDC and the scientific community to host this event responsibly and safely, and only through volunteer efforts will this be able to be accomplished. If you would like to sign up to volunteer, please follow the link below to pick a date/time and indicate the size of the event t-shirt.
2022 Schedule
Friday, February 18th, 2022 |
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| NO LATER THAN 5:00 pm |
PRIOR APPROVAL FORMS DUE If your project requires PRIOR APPROVAL, please submit forms BEFORE your RESEARCH START DATE! Unsure about prior approvals needed? Email the GKCSEF Scientific Review Committee at [email protected]
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Friday, February 25th, 2022 |
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| NO LATER THAN 5:00 pm | ALL FORMS AND REGISTRATION DUE
Any application received after February 18th, 2022 will not be accepted. The $7.00 entry fee must accompany registration for the application to be complete. |
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Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022 |
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| 8:00 am – 3:00 pm | PROJECT SET UP Students may set up exhibits at Union Station in Grand Hall and Grand Plaza. All projects must be set up by 3:00 pm. |
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| 4:00 – 10:00 pm | ACADEMIC JUDGING The Fair is closed to the public. |
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| 7:00 – 8:30 pm | STUDENT INTERVIEWSStudents should be at their projects to interview with academic judges.JUNIOR LEVEL INTERVIEWS (optional)SENIOR LEVEL INTERVIEWS (required) | |
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Thursday, March 24th, 2022 |
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| 7:00am –12:00pm | SPECIAL AWARD JUDGINGThe Fair is closed to the public. | |
| 12:00 – 5:00pm* | PUBLIC VIEWING and SCHOOL FIELD TRIP EXPERIENCESThe Fair is free and open to the public. Science Fair booth closes at 5 pm, Fair is still open for public viewing!*Subject to change | |
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Friday, March 25th, 2022 |
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| 9:00 am – 4:00 pm | PUBLIC VIEWING and SCHOOL FIELD TRIP EXPERIENCES The Fair is free and open to the public. |
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| 4:00 – 7:00 pm | REMOVAL OF PROJECTS All projects must be removed by 7:00 pm. Projects not picked up will be discarded! |
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Saturday, April 2nd, 2022 |
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| 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | THE CHARLES N. KIMBALL AWARDS CEREMONYGrand Plaza – Live on Union Station’s Facebook Page.
Awards valued at $7,000+ |
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STUDENTS & REGISTRATION
Submit forms for prior approval to [email protected] by February 11.
FORMS- GRADES 4-8
Rules Summary (grades 4-8) for 2022 KC Fair (updated)
- Bacteria and Mold Form 4
- Hazardous Materials Form 3
- Human Participants Form (2)
- Human Tissue
- Vertebrate Animal Form 5
ISEF FORMS – GRADES 9-12
Rules Summary (grades 9-12) for 2022 KC Fair (updated)
- 1 – Checklist for Adult Sponsor
- 1A – Student Checklist Research Plan Instructions
- 1B – Approval Form
- 1C – Regulated Research Institution
- 2 – Qualified Scientist
- 3 -Risk Assessment
- 4 – Human Participants
- 4 – Sample-Informed-Consent
- 5A – Vertebrate Animal
- 5B-Vertebrate-Animal 912
- 6A – Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents
- 6B – Human Vertebrate Animal Tissue
- 7 -Continuation
SCIENCE FAIR HANDBOOKS
- Intermediate/Junior Handbook
- Senior Handbook
- Inventors Handbook
- Computer Science Handbook
- Teacher/ Parent Handbook
- Organizing a Fair Handbook
- SF Paper grades 4-6 handbook (Template for SF Paper)
- SF Paper Grades 7-12 handbook
- Experimental Design vs. Scientific Method
- Experimental Design vs. Scientific Method
- GKCSEF-LRNG Pathway
- Student Research Handbook
SCORING GUIDES
2022 Science & Engineering Fair Theme: “Science is my Superpower!”
CONGRATULATIONS to our winners for the 71st GKCSEF T-shirt Design Contest!
Winner: Megan Bishton, 9th grade, Liberty High School
Runner-Up: Rachel Johnston, 4th grade, Homeschool
Campbell Family Educator Grant
AVAILABLE for Educators in 4-8th grades (Intermediate and Junior Divisions)
In recognition of your service to the STEM development of students and teachers, the Campbell Family is pleased to announce the Mabel & Newton Campbell Educator Grant Endowment, which will provide grants of $1,000 to help educators provide resources to their students developing projects to be presented at the Greater Kansas City Science & Engineering Fair in hopes that this can provide a lasting legacy for the Campbell Family’s long-time dedication to science education in Kansas City.
GKCSEF Charles N. Kimball Awards Ceremony
Sponsored By Burns & McDonnell
The Howard Gadberry Teacher Award goes to a teacher that reflects his commitment to research and contributing to the community through science with his long-term involvement at Midwest Research Institute. The 2020 Howard Gadberry Teacher award went to Marsha Skoczek of Olathe North High School Geosciences Academy.
Special Awards
Both national and local STEM organizations with a devoted interest in science education provide special awards for projects entered into the Fair. Each organization selects its own award criteria and provides judges to select the winning projects.
We would like to thank all of these organizations for their support and participation in the Fair.
Gadberry Educator Award
The Howard Gadberry Award is designed to recognize teachers in grades 4-12 who show outstanding effort toward the motivation of students in scientific exploration. The award of $1000 and a certificate is given annually by Science City at the annual Greater KC Science & Engineering Fair Awards Ceremony.
The Howard Gadberry Educator Award recognizes Mr. Gadberry’s outstanding commitment to research professionalism, and his contributions to the community through his long-term involvement with Midwest Research Institute as their Senior Advisor for Technology. Educators may nominate themselves or other educators. You may nominate more than one educator.
Qualifications:
Teaching at least one class period in grades 4-12 science Annually engages students in scientific research Prepares students to successfully compete in the Greater KC Science & Engineering Fair Is a leader in science education and provides service to the profession.
Past Fair Seasons
Photo Gallery
GKCSEF Awards Ceremony 2018
Regeneron ISEF 2022
Regeneron ISEF 2022 will be held in Atlanta, GA at the Georgia World Congress Center from May 8-13, 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be held as a hybrid event to accommodate finalists who are unable to travel to Atlanta, GA.
EVERYONE must be fully vaccinated in order to attend ISEF in person. All attendees will also be required to wear masks while inside the Georgia World Congress Center unless they are actively eating or drinking.
You can find more information about COVID-19 safety at Regeneron ISEF 2022 here: https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/2022-covid-19-policy/
You can find more information about Regeneron ISEF here: https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/2022-faq/