Science Fair Mentor Application Info

NAWCAD STRATEGIC EDUCATION OFFICE
SCIENCE FAIR MENTOR PROGRAM STUDENT APPLICATION
Attention Future Science Fair Participants

Are you hoping to participate in the 2023 St. Mary's County Science and Engineering Fair? Do you have some ideas but need help
with paperwork, presentation skills, or an expert to answer your questions? Then, the Science Fair Mentor Program could be for
you! Any student in grades 9-12 in St. Mary's County can register!

About the Program

The Science Fair Program is a community outreach volunteer program which started in St. Mary's County in the Fall of 2014. The
program matches each student to an engineer or scientist with various levels of experience in the field designated by the student's
chosen science fair project category.

How to Apply

All interested students should complete and submit the application form provided by your school's science fair coordinator. The
application forms need to be typed or completed in legible handwriting, signed by both the student and a parent/guardian, and
e-mailed to the teacher by September 12, 2022. The teacher can submit all student application forms via e-mail attachments to
[email protected] by September 16, 2022. To protect your students’ information, it is recommended that the email
be encrypted or to password protect the document(s) before sending. Should you password protect the document(s), please
send the password(s) in a separate email. Alternatively, the document(s) may be sent via DoD Safe drop-off link. To send the
document(s) via DoD Safe drop-off link, email Crystal Krater to request a drop-off link. You will then receive an email with a link
to upload and encrypt the document. Once again, please send the encryption password to Crystal Krater in a separate email.
Note: If you do not have access to a science teacher (home-schooled or not currently enrolled in a science class), please contact
the program leaders directly to provide an e-mail address and obtain a registration form.
While you do not have to formulate a specific hypothesis in order to complete the application, you should have a general idea of
the question that your project will address. We cannot match students with a mentor if they do not yet have a well-defined
question, and we encourage students to make use of the resources already available to them whenever possible. Please keep in
mind that your mentors will not tell you what to study or what experiments to do — you must plan these yourself. However, if
you know that you will need a specific type of assistance (e.g., access to a sterile bio-safety cabinet), be sure to include that
information on the application form.

Kick-off Event

Accepted students and their parents/guardians will be invited to a kick-off event designed for students to meet their mentor, and
plan mentoring session dates. These may be virtual and will take place in October 2022 — details will be forthcoming.

Further Information/Contact Information

Questions? Please feel free to contact the program coordinator via e-mail at [email protected] or via phone: (714)
732-2492

Application forms are due by September 16, 2022.
Accepted students will be notified and assigned mentors by October 3, 2022.