Top Gwinnett County Science Fairs for High School Students

Science fairs are opportunities for high school researchers to showcase and receive feedback on their work, connect with like-minded peers, and compete for recognition at the local, regional, state, and international levels. Attending and participating in a regional science fair is a valuable chance to experience the energetic sharing and discussion of impactful data, which can be eye-opening for a budding scholar. Ideally, science fair participants should come away from their experiences inspired by the creativity and passion of their fellow researchers, and determined to continue engaging with and contributing to the scientific community.

What is the Difference Between a Science Fair and a Science Exhibition?

Although science fairs and science exhibitions are similar (and the words are sometimes used interchangeably), there is a distinction between the two. Specifically, exhibitions and academic conferences have the goal of sharing knowledge, either broadly or within the niche of an academic community. Science fairs, however, are exhibitions that also incorporate a competitive element. Combining science and competition in the form of a science fair makes sense for some students, while others may prefer to showcase their work in the form of an exhibition. Both formats are valid, and the choice to enter one or the other is entirely up to the student.

Exploring Science Fairs for Gwinnett County Students

The Science Fair System: How it Works

The Gwinnett Science, Engineering + Innovation Fair is one of the 21 regional science fairs affiliated with the statewide Georgia Science and Engineering Fair. Regional science fairs are just one level of the highly organized science fair system. Students who attend school in Gwinnett County are only eligible to participate in the Gwinnett Science Fair, and cannot enter any other regional fairs. In order to qualify for the Gwinnett regional science fair, students must attend an affiliated public, charter, or public school in Gwinnett County (or be homeschooled and reside in Gwinnett County). There are currently over 150 affiliated schools. Students must first participate in their school’s fair, earn 1st place, and be officially selected by their school’s judges to advance to the regional level. It is not possible to register directly for a regional fair without first winning at the school level.

Similarly, up to 30 participants at the Gwinnett Science Fair are nominated to advance to the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF) at the University of Georgia in Athens, where they compete against the top participants from the other 20 regional science fairs in the state. (The GSEF guidelines make clear that students must first compete in and win a school-level fair and a regional-level fair to qualify for the state-level competition.) Furthermore, both the Gwinnett Science Fair and GSEF are affiliated with the Society For Science’s Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), and can therefore nominate the top 3 (Gwinnett) or 4 (GSEF) overall projects to advance to the international level.

For more on ISEF and the Society For Science competitions, you can check out our article on Winning Tips for Regeneron ISEF, and read about What Polygence Alums Learned from the Regeneron Science Talent Search. 

Gwinnett Science, Engineering + Innovation Fair

Date: February 27, 2025

Location: Gas South Convention Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, Georgia 30097

Eligibility: Students in grades 6-12 who A) attend an affiliated school in Gwinnett County, and B) were officially nominated by their school’s fair judges to compete at the regional level

The Gwinnett County Science, Engineering + Innovation Fair will take place on February 27th, 2025. As an ISEF-affiliated fair, the Gwinnett Science Fair requires all participants to comply with the rules and guidelines set out by ISEF. This set of international regulations can change slightly from year to year, but is consistent across all science fairs affiliated with the Society For Science during an academic year. ISEF dictates the possible project categories, ethics requirements, safety rules, and more.

Participants must complete an independent science, engineering, or innovation project before the fair, write up and submit their work, and then present and respond to the judges’ questions on the day of the fair. The Gwinnett Science Fair has a very useful guideline for choosing and working on science fair projects. (Polygence also offers resources like our project idea generator.) In keeping with ISEF guidelines, the Gwinnett Science Fair permits each participant to work with a research mentor.

What Happens During Judging?

On the day of the fair, participants will present their work in the form of a project board and an oral presentation, including questions and answers. Throughout the open presentation period, students will discuss their work with other students, parents, and, of course, judges. Judges are volunteers selected by the fair; according to the Gwinnett Science Fair website, judges are assigned to projects based on the amount of overlap with their areas of expertise. Participants are expected to begin by guiding listeners through the course of their project, using the board, notebooks, and other materials to illustrate their work. Afterwards, it is common for listeners, including judges, to ask the speaker a few questions about the project. 

The quality of the presentation is the single most important factor in the judges’ scoring rubric, with 25 out 100 available points riding on it. The most important components of a good presentation are the clarity and enthusiasm with which participants are able to talk about their work. Participants must demonstrate a deep understanding of the science behind their methods and results, and a recognition of its potential impact. Judges are also looking for students to respond clearly and concisely to their questions (if you don’t know the answer, acknowledge that you aren’t certain while offering an informed hypothesis), and to offer strong ideas for future continuations of their research. If a judge offers you an idea, be sure to write it down — not only because it shows that you are open and attentive to new ideas, but also because they know what they’re talking about!

Additional Opportunities: Other Science Fairs and Contests for Gwinnett County Students

Because of how the science fair system is structured, there are only four official science fairs that high schoolers in Gwinnett County can technically compete in: 

State level: The Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF)

• Dates: April 3-5, 2025

• Location: The Classic Center in Athens, GA

• Eligibility requirements: Score in the top 30 in the Gwinnett Science Fair

Regional Science and Engineering Fair

The regional science and engineering fair for students in Gwinnett County is, of course, the Gwinnett County Science, Engineering + Innovation Fair. However, students from different parts of the state would instead enter the GSEF-affiliated science fair for their own region. For example, student scientists in northeast Georgia counties would participate in the North East Georgia (NEGA) Science & Engineering Fair, hosted by Piedmont University. The complete map of all regional science fairs in Georgia can be found here.

Atlanta Science Festival

Although not technically in Gwinnett County, the Atlanta Science Festival is a city-wide showcase of the entire STEM community. Each March, venues across Atlanta host events for curious kids and grown-ups alike. This is an opportunity for absolutely everyone in the area to learn about science, and also about careers in STEM. The festival culminates in a huge, science-themed party in Piedmont Park in Downtown Atlanta!

Leveraging Polygence for Research Projects

Having access to dedicated, high quality mentorship can elevate students’ scientific research, encouraging them to meaningfully engage with the scientific community. Polygence is a research mentorship program that empowers students to conduct rigorous and impactful independent research projects. Our students receive 1:1 guidance from expert scientists who are also passionate about teaching. As they go through the steps of selecting topics, designing experiments, collecting data, writing reports, and crafting presentations for science fair projects, they receive the tools they need to develop their research skills while discovering and deepening their academic passions. With the support they received from Polygence, our students have advanced all the way to ISEF, the most prestigious science fair in the world. 

Why Polygence is the Key to Advancing in STEM

Leveraging scientific mentorship from Polygence leading up to and/or during your science fair project can help you develop the research skills to amplify the impact of your independent project. More impactful projects are valued by science fair judges and, therefore, tend to advance to higher levels of competition with larger audiences. Importantly, the farther you and your project advance, the more feedback you will receive and the more time you’ll spend discussing your work with experts in your field of research, which is one of the greatest benefits to participating at the higher levels of science fair competition. Although you’ll be judged at every stage, remember that your discussions with the judges are invaluable opportunities for feedback on your methodology. 

In addition to the support they receive in creating impactful science fair projects, leading to strong results in competitions, Polygence students also see more success in college admissions results compared to national averages. Conducting research with Polygence, whether through our core program or with Polygence Pods is a formative academic experience that many Polygence students choose to highlight on their college applications. Indeed, many Polygence alums continue deepening the independent research they began with us after matriculating to top research universities and joining their new research teams and labs!

Want to learn more about how you can leverage Polygence to maximize your experience at the Gwinnett County Science Fair and beyond? Head to our database of past Polygence student projects, and filter by the category or categories you’re most excited about exploring!