The Lehigh Valley Science and Engineering Research Fair follows the rules of Society for Science. Both Delaware Valley Science Fair and ISEF follow the same set of  rules.

LVSF Rules:

  • Refer to ISEF
  • LVSF Participants must attend school in Lehigh or Northampton County
  • Students in grades 6-12 may participate
  • Advancing to Del Val:
    • First, Second & Third place in each category in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12
    • First place in grades 7 & 8
    • Final count of participants that can advance to Del Val is determined by Del Val. More winners may advance.
  • Deadlines
    • All participants must adhere to the published deadlines.
    • Late registrations will not be accepted or allowed.
  • Dishonesty
    • Falsified information will lead to disqualification.
  • All participants must complete the "Lehigh University Indemnity Release for Activities Involving Minors." Upload the completed form to your portal on STEM  Wizard.
  • Judges caucus to determine winners. All judges' rulings are final.

 

Notable Changes for 2026:

Read this document that highlights all changes to ISEF rules. These rules must be followed at LVSF and Del Val.

 

Form Changes for 2026

  • Student Checklist (1A)
    • Added clarification on question 6 section b that Form 7s for all previous project years are required.
      • Explain how this project is new and different from previous years on
        • Continuation/Research Progression Form (7); include forms for all previous years
  • Regulated Research Institutional/Industrial Setting Form (1C)
    • First bullet under number 1, received data was added
      • Used equipment and/or received data
  • Qualified Scientist Form (2)
    • Question 3 was added
      • 3. Did you provide any data; if yes, please provide source or describe
  • Risk Assessment Form 3
    • Added second sentence to number 3.
      • Describe the safety precautions and procedures that will be used to reduce the risks. If you conducted fieldwork, include permits received and safety plans, as applicable.
  • Human Participants Form (4)
    • Under IRB USE ONLY section, combined numbers 3 and 4 and removed the No checkbox
    • Under IRB USE ONLY section, #6. Was added.
      • 6. Facility for “protected groups” used, written approval has been obtained. Yes No
  • Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents Risk Assessment Form (6A)
    • Added sentence to the end of the intro.
      • The student researcher must minimize the impact of an experiment on the environment.
    • Under Section 1: Project Assessment, reworded number 2.
      • 2. Describe the biosafety level of the experimentation site.
    • Under Section 1: Project Assessment, in number 3, changed “hood type” to “safety cabinet type”
    • Under Section 1: Project Assessment, deleted number 4.
    • Provided links to the BSL-2 checklist throughout the document
    • Under Section 3, checkbox 2 was added.
      • This project involves the culturing of Multi Drug Resistant Organisms (MDROs). It has been conducted in a BSL-2 or higher lab at a Regulated Research Institution and the required IBC pre-approval is attached. Date of IBC approval ____________________
    • Final SRC signature box was removed. SRC should be signing form 1B either 2a or 2b, depending on if the project needed pre-approval from the fair’s SRC (2a) or if the project was done at an RRI and received pre-approval from the RRI and not the fair’s SRC (2b).
  • Continuation/Research Progression Projects Form (7)
    • Added to the bottom of the form another checkbox for additional Form 7s