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Thomas Edison Festival of Lights regional inventors fair

Florida Gulf Goast Affiliate of The Henry Ford Invention Convention Worldwide

Home / Programs / invention & entrepreneurship / Teachers

Teachers

Teachers

Thank you for your incredible dedication to fostering innovation and creativity in your students! Your support of the Inventors Fair not only empowers young minds to think critically and solve real-world problems but also inspires them to see themselves as future scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. By investing your time and energy into this program, you are shaping the next generation of innovators and changemakers. Your commitment to hands-on, discovery-based learning makes a lasting impact, and we are truly grateful for all that you do to ignite curiosity and encourage big ideas in your classrooms.

register to participate 2024-25

  • Each School and Teacher must register to allow students to advance to Regional Science or Inventors Fair.
  • Registration Deadline is September 30th
  • Registration Affiliation fee is $300 per school/group per division and allows up to six student spots at the Regional Fair
  • Registration Affiliation fee is due by October 30th
  • A late fee of $30 will be charged after October 30th
  • If payment is not made by November 30th, registration will be withdrawn and students from that registration will not be able to advance to Regionals

regional participation

  • Additional students who qualify for regionals will be $25 per student
  • Additional student fee is due January 24th
  • Each school at each division level can have a maximum of 16 students advance to each regional Fair
  • Schools will be asked to support registration fees for students that advance to State/Nat’l/Int’l
# of Participants
per dividion per Fair Schoolbased Fair 15
each additional 15
# of Students
able to advance Regional Fair 6
+1 (max of 16)

When to Conduct school-Based fair

Plan a school-based fair by January 10th

This will allow time for advancing students to meet Regional requirements. Pick your date(s) and get permission from school administration to run your fair. Time required will depend on total student participation.

Maximum: 1 day to set up, 1 day for fair and time to break down.

Fees: Invention Fair Payment Due Oct. 30, 2024

Each Elementary, Middle, or High Division for each Fair will require a separate registration fee. A Division includes affiliation fee & 6 student entries. One additional student entry for every 15 participants above the initial 15.

Plan for Regional Registration deadline January 16th, 2025

Team Projects are limited to a maximum of three (3) members. Each participant counts as one of your allotted members with a maximum of 16 from each school.

Launching Your Program

Free Lesson Plans and More: Use Florida Gulf Coast Affiliation to join.

how to Conduct school-Based fair

Inventors Fair Class, Club, or Group Arrangement.

Select logbooks and review program launch resources. Create a Program Schedule to conclude ahead of the School Fair. See the helpful Six Month Planning Calendar Template. Parenteral, teacher or approved mentor supervision required.

Student Inventors Fair paperwork & approvals

  • Students must reveive Teacher & Parent approval BEFORE building/testing. No Backdating. This is not necessary and inappropriate.
  • STEM Co-registered entries must comply with ISEF rules & regulations. Safety is priority.

getting invention fair judges

Do this as soon as you know your fair date(s).

Day of school fair (by or before January 10th)

Consider having an in-person fair with judging. Provides students practice in comunicating their Invention Process & Impact with the judges.

Tri Fold/Backboard/Poster Restrictions to consider

  • No Staples
  • Boards and projects should not include brand names of products
  • All photos, graphs, pictures, and tables need a caption. For example, “created by the inventor” or an official citation from where they got them.
  • 36 inch board limit to height
  • See template.

Optional: encourage students to list one primary invention category.

Need Invention Fair Ribbons? Order them early.

Virtual Display Board options – may serve as a “virtual only” presentation aid.

Physical Display Board Template

School fair awards

How will you notify/celebrate the winners of your fair?

  • An awards ceremony (after school with the options of parent attendance).
  • Prize patrol style (during school)

Registration steps

STEP one

Go to relevant zFairs page

STEP TWO

Create Account/Teacher View YouTube Video
If your school is not listed, select “Add a School that is not listed” button.

STEP THREE

Complete School Registration Google Forms

STEP FOUR

Receive and Process Invoice

registration Affiliation fees

Science & Engineering

  • Junior or Senior Division $300 per division due by October 30.
  • More than six students advance $25 per additional student due by January 24.

Inventors

  • Elementary, Middle, or High School Division $300 per division due by October 30.
  • More than six students advance $25 per additional student due by January 24.

Affiliation Fee Examples

  • If your school is participating in both Science and Inventors Fairs for grades 9-12, the registration fee will be $600.
  • If your school is participating in inventors Fair for grades K-8, the registration fee will be $600.
  • If 7 Inventors and 8 Science Fair students advance to regionals, $600 registration fee plus an additional $75 will be due.
  • If 3 Inventors and 4 Science Fair students advance, $600 registration fee however no additional fee and no refund.

FundRaising Ideas for fees

Write to these groups or your administration

  • Student Advisory Committee
  • Parent Teacher Organization
  • School Budget
  • Other School Level Fundraising

other ideas

  • Share how beneficial these opportunities are for the students
  • Ask parents to help fundraise
  • See how the other clubs/sports raise funds

Fequently Asked Questions

If my school participates in Science Fair and Inventors Fairs, what is the cost for the school fair affiliation?

The fee for each division and Fair is $300. If your school is participating in both Science and Inventors Fair, the fair affiliation fee will be $600 for the school.

If your school is participating at the Junior and Senior division for Science Fair and Middle and High division for Inventors Fair, the fair affiliation fee will be $1,200 for the school.

If a student is participating in both Science and Inventors Fairs at the regional level, does it count as one student spot or two?

The student count is per student per Fair. If they participate in both Fairs it counts as two spots.

If two or more students work as a team on a project and advance to regionals, how many student spots are used?

Each student on the team is assigned a separate student spot. If there are three students on a team, this counts as three student allocation spots.

I did not receive an invoice, who can I contact?

Invoices will come from finance@edisonfairs.org – please check your junk and spam folders as it may have gone there. Please also consider adding to this address (edisonfairs.org) to your address book to avoid missing future emails from us. Any questions on the fees and payment process can be sent to finance@edisonfairs.org.

Teacher Resources and Examples

Samples & Examples

Additional Resources

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Stay in the Know

Big ideas are all around us. We want to keep you up to date on our fairs and how you or someone you may know might be able to get involved.

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