Orange County Branch Newsletter

April 2015

OCSEF

Call for Judges - 60th Annual Orange County Science & Engineering Fair | April 22nd, 2015


The Annual Orange County Science & Engineering Fair (OCSEF) is held at the Orange County Fair & Exposition Center (OC Fair Grounds) in Costa Mesa, California. The Orange County Fair and Exposition Center is located at 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA.  The closest intersection is the 55 Freeway and Fair Drive

We expect close to 600, 6th through 12th grade students from Orange County public, parochial and private schools to convene at the OC Fair Grounds. These students represent some of the best in Orange County. They will compete for OCSEF Board awards in 20 categories and for special awards from over 25 professional organizations and technical societies.

This is an all-day event.  Doors open at 7:00 AM. Some 200 judges of graduate level and above will need to be present from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m

We are always in need of judges due to attrition, work needs assignments, business or personal travel, vacation and sickness.  I invite you and your friends and colleagues to register as a judge at our website www.ocsef.org  (click on ‘Judges’ and ‘Sign up’ in the drop down menu).

We provide a continental breakfast. Lunch is also provided. Snacks, soft drinks and coffee are available all day.

A brief familiarization meeting is held at 7:30 am followed by meetings with category captains in the area projects are located. Judges have an hour (8:00 AM to 9:00 AM) to review the displays, log books, and certification forms (if required). Abstracts can also be reviewed ahead of time on our website.

Judging occurs from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in one hour increments. A new set of students arrives each hour. Judges typically work in pairs, with new judges paired with experienced judges. Each pair interviews three to four students each hour. Judges caucus with category captains to determine first, second and third places from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The top students are selected to compete at the California State Fair in Los Angeles a few weeks later.

It is a fun and stimulating day, and a pleasure to see that a keen interest in science is alive and well in Orange County!

I do hope you will decide to join us.

Stephen J Hobbs
Director of Judging,
Orange County Science and Engineering Fair,
714-383-0168 (c)
714-892-7521

Related Groups/Committees

Sponsors