Awards Overview

The Quinte Regional Science and Technology Fair celebrates excellence in scientific thinking, creativity, engineering design, communication, and innovation. Awards are determined through a structured judging process that ensures fairness and consistency across all grade levels.

How Awards Are Judged

All finalists’ projects are grouped by grade level (Grades 4–12). Each group contains 4–5 projects. Judges spend approximately 20 minutes evaluating each project before moving to the next.

The winner of each group receives:

• First Place Ribbon
• Gold Medal (presented at the awards ceremony)

Second Round: Best in Grade

All first‑place finishers advance to the second round. Judges evaluate these projects to determine the Best in Grade. The Best in Grade winner receives a commemorative plaque during the awards ceremony.

Best in Fair

After Best in Grade is determined, judges evaluate the top projects across three divisions:

• Grades 4–6
• Grades 7–8
• Grades 9–12

The Best in Fair winner receives a special plaque presented at the awards ceremony.

Special Awards

While main judging is underway, special awards judges evaluate projects that students selected during registration. Each student may choose up to three special awards to be judged for.

Special awards may include:

• Monetary awards
• Scholarships
• Bursaries
• Gift cards

All special awards are presented during the awards ceremony.

How Special Awards Are Acquired

Special awards are provided by sponsors who define the criteria for their award. These sponsors may include:

• STEM organizations
• Local businesses
• Post‑secondary institutions
• Government agencies
• Community groups

Special awards judges evaluate projects based on sponsor‑defined criteria and select the winners accordingly.