This year, the Quebec Aboriginal Science Fair will be held at Université du Québec en Outaouais in Gatineau. When registering, you will be asked to upload a 5-page written report that will be sent only to the judges,
The team of one or two students will be evaluated on site by judges according to an evaluation grid that emphasizes the scientific merit and originality of the project.
Please carefully read the rules below, especially on safety and ethics.
1. Eligibility
1.1 The participant must be registered in a First Nations or Inuit community school in Quebec.
1.2 A maximum of two students per team, and each school can register only one team by category.
1.3 Students must register in one of these 5 categories: grade 5, grade 6 , secondary 1, secondary 2-3 or secondary 4-5.
1.4 No violent or destructive project will be accepted (firearms, bomb, war, etc.).
1.5 The project must have scientific content and/or a scientific approach.
2. Every participant must commit him or herself to:
2.1 Install and dismantle their display.
2.2 To be present during opening hours.
2.3 Respect instructions from their supervisor and the organizing committee.
2.4 Respect the other participants and the visitors.
3. Written report and presentation stand
Here are some tips to produce your project report and presentation stand:
On the presentation cardboard (size is indicated below), write your project title, your names, grade level and community name.
For example, in your project report and on the presentation board, you may want to illustrate and respond to these questions:
What for? A question that interests you and that you are trying to answer. Your hypothesis.
How? Your work plan. The method used to answer the question. Your Independent and independent variables and controls.
What? Your observations and results.
So what? Your conclusions after analyzing the results.
What's next? The solutions, or other questions it raises.
References: The resources used (experts, books, websites, etc.)
Briefly:
3.1 Each written report must include a title page and a bibliography of the documents used for the project.
3.2 The report must include the scientific approach used for the project.
3.3 The cardboard presentation stand that will be provided will have the following dimensions: 61 centimetres (2 feet) wide at the back, with two panels of 30,5 cm (1 foot) on the sides, and 91,4 cm (3 feet) high.
4. Security
4.1 The display will be kept out of reach of the public unless it is specifically designed
as a hands-on demonstration.
4.2 Any rubber pipes, electric cords, wires or ropes must be as short as possible and fixed
to avoid accident.
4.3 Tastings are absolutely forbidden.
4.4 Products that release smells that may irritate must be in a hermetically sealed container.
4.5 Blood tests and shots are forbidden.
4.6 Compressed gas tanks are forbidden.
4.7 The following are not permitted on the site:
Pathologic agents which can causes illness or carcinogenic agents
Poisons
Radioactive substances
Explosive materials
Highly flammable materials
Cryogenic substances (dry ice, liquid nitrogen, etc.)
Illegal substances (drugs, etc.)
Foods not authorized in Canada
4.8 No open flame will be allowed.
5. Ethics
Ethics deal with social agreements on right and wrong. QASEA has formed an ethics committee to ensure that all projects submitted to the QASF conform to its rules and regulations. These ethics rules are the same as those adopted by Youth Science Canada for the Canada Wide Science Fair. Teachers supervising students who have projects with human participants or using animals must be familiar with the following rules and make sure that forms are signed for these three types of projects.
See: https://mystemspace.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2021/02/Ethics-in-STEM-Projects.pdf
Participation of human subjects
No experiment will involve the suffering of people physically or psychologically.
All participants in scientific research such as class surveys of attitudes, beliefs or skill tests must be supervised, and a consent form must be signed by participants.
Participation of Humans in Research - Low Risk
A low-risk project is one where the participating human subjects are not submitted to more risk than those encountered in everyday life. Class surveys of attitudes, beliefs, or skill tests may be termed Low Risk. All human participants in scientific research must give Informed Consent, which comprises consent, confidentiality, and the right to withdraw.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON LOW-RISK PROJECTS:
FORM TO FILL:
Participation of Humans in Research - Significant Risk
A significant risk project is one where the participating human subjects are submitted to more risk than those encountered in everyday life. The science project or experiment must be done under the direction of a qualified scientific supervisor. All participants must be assured that they are safe, that they are treated with respect and dignity and that the information they provide will be kept confidential.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SIGNIFICANT RISK PROJECTS:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200929005719/https:/youthscience.ca/node/729
FORM TO FILL:
4.1B_Humans_Significant_Risk.pdf
Use of animals
All experimental use of animals for scientific research must have educational and scientific value and must not harm the animal.
No experiment will involve the suffering of animals. However, experiments on animals killed for human consumption are allowed. Cells, tissues or any other biological material may be used only if they are sealed (slide or plastic-coat). Living animals are forbidden on the site. Only stuffed animals and hermetically sealed insect collections will be authorized. Treated skins and naturalized skeletons, whole or in parts, coming from a known source are accepted.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the use of animals:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200926131947/https://youthscience.ca/node/8224
and Research plan template:
FORM TO FILL:
If you would like advice of the ethics committee on a project, read:
For more information on the Quebec Indigenous Science Fair Ethics Committee, please contact:
Martine Couture
Chair
QASF Ethics Committee
E-mail: martine.couturei@sympatico.ca
Tel.: 819-684-1889
