The SciFest Essay Contest

Write an essay answering the question below and be entered to win NE SciFest swag.

 Question: In honor of our keynote speaker – and her high school science teacher and mentor, Mr. Carlock, who encouraged her interest in science – tell us about an important science mentor in your life.

PRIZES

Winners will receive a swag bag of NE SciFest and other goodies.

REQUIREMENTS

All essays must meet the following requirements:

  • All entrants must live in the state of Nebraska and be enrolled full-time in a public, private or home school
  • Students must be no older than 19 years of age
  • Each student may only submit one essay. However, a teacher/coach may submit multiple essays
  • Do not exceed 1,000 words (150 words minimum)

Submit Essay

Submit your essay to nescifest@gmail.com.

Please include the following in your email:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Grade (4-12)
  • School

HOW THEY’LL BE JUDGED

Each category will be judged separately, based on the abilities of students in those grades. Students may not move down to a lower grade-level category. SciFest has three categories:

  • Elementary School Level (Grades 4 – 6)
  • Middle School Level (Grades 7 – 9)
  • High School Level (Grades 10 – 12)

Submission materials will not be returned and will become the property of the Nebraska Science Festival. Please retain a copy for your records. Unfortunately, due to the volume of submissions, it is impossible to give individual critiques to participants.

Essays will be judged on creativity, communication and feasibility of topic. To ensure an impartial selection process, the judges will not see student, teacher or school names. Essays must be postmarked by April 30.

FULL CONTEST RULES:

  • All entrants must live in the state of Nebraska and be enrolled full-time in a public, private or home school.
  • All entrants must be under the age of 19 by April 30, 2024.
  • Essay must be postmarked no later than April 30, 2024.
  • Essay must be solely the work of the entrant. Plagiarism will result in disqualification. Essays must not infringe on any third party rights or intellectual property of any person, company, or organization. By submitting an essay to this Contest, the entrant agrees to indemnify the Nebraska Science Festival for any claim, demand, judgment, or other allegation arising from possible violation of someone’s trademark, copyright, or other legally protected interest in any way in the entrant’s essay.
  • Decisions of the judges are final. Families of the festival advisory board of directors are not eligible for this contest.
  •  All entries become the property of the Nebraska Science Festival and will not be returned.
  • The Nebraska Science Festival is not responsible if entries do not get to us (ie- lost in the mail, etc.)
  • Winners and all other participants will be notified via e-mail by May 3, 2024.
  • Winners are responsible to provide their mailing addresses and other necessary information under the law in order to receive any prizes. Contest winners agree to allow the Nebraska Science Festival to post their names on any of the festivals affiliated websites and press materials. The winning essays may be posted in their entirety on any of these websites with full credit given to the author. Winners will be solely responsible for any federal, state or local taxes.