A student or team may enter only one research project and it must be his/her own work. Students should not submit a project if they will be unable to attend the Fair.

Every student who submits a project must complete the Student Checklist & Research Plan (ISEF Form 1A) and the Approval Form (ISEF 1B) and meet with his/her Adult Sponsor to complete the Checklist for Adult Sponsor (ISEF 1). Students should also discuss with their Adult Sponsor if the project includes anything that might require prior SRC/IRB approval (See Rules & Regulations: Restricted Projects). If so, the student must submit their Research Plan to the committee for review before starting experimentation.

Every student or team must prepare a 250 word (maximum), one-page abstract which summarizes the current year’s work. The abstract must describe research conducted by the student, not by the adult supervisors. Abstracts must be entered into the computer when completing the online registration and are required to be displayed with the project at the Fair.  Students do not need to send in the abstract when submitting the synopsis in February. The Abstract is often the only item used by the Special Award Judges to determine which students they wish to interview, so it is important that it is well done.

Junior Division students must submit 3 copies of their Research Project Synopsis, while Senior Division students must submit 4 copies (this has to do with the number of judges in the different divisions).  Projects should be sent to the Metro Richmond Science Fair Coordinator, MathScience Innovation Center, 2401 Hartman Street, Richmond, VA 23223, by the appropriate deadline listed in the Fair Calendar. See the Research Project Synopsis page for more specific information.

Do not send the originals of the Synopsis or any forms but please make sure that all copies are legible. All forms should be typed or printed in black ink or generated from the forms lists on the Intel ISEF or Metro Richmond Science Fair web sites. The required forms should be included with only ONE copy of the Synopsis.

If the student's research falls under the regulations for Restricted Projects, the appropriate certification forms should be included with the file copy of the Synopsis only. Please see the Restricted Projects rules to determine which forms apply to each specific project. You can also go to the Intel ISEF Overview of Forms and Dates site that explains each form and its use. If human subjects are used, do not send a Human Subjects Form for each subject. These should be kept by the student researcher or the teacher.

For regulations governing the Synopsis and specific information on the parts of the synopsis, see The Research Project Synopsis.

Each research synopsis will be read and scored by at least 2 screeners who are knowledgeable in the appropriate field. The students whose projects score the highest in each category will be invited to participate in the Metro Richmond Science Fair.

Accepted students and their teachers will receive an email notification, usually on the Friday after the screenings are completed. Acceptance letters to these students, as well as letters to those students whose projects were not accepted, will follow. Included with the acceptance letter will be a form entitled "Student Exhibit Agreement Form". All students who plan to exhibit their project must return this form by the specified date. Students indicating that they will exhibit are expected to attend the Fair except in emergency situations. Teachers should notify the Coordinator as soon as possible of the names of those students who will not be attending the Fair.

Each exhibit must comply with the Fair rules for display size and safety. Specific rules for the displays may be found in the section on Exhibiting & Judging, as well as information regarding the set up of projects and what to expect on the day of the Fair.