Adult Sponsor
Every fair participant needs an Adult Sponsor in order to sign up as a participant! Thank you very much for your willingness to help students by serving as an Adult Sponsor. If you have more questions, please contact us at: info@centralsoundfair.org.
What is an Adult Sponsor?
Thank you for considering serving as an “Adult Sponsor” for a student registering in the Central Sound Science & Engineering Fair (CSRSEF). It’s an important role, and the students cannot participate in this competition without an Adult Sponsor. Completing a science or engineering project in a Regeneron ISEF affiliated Science & Engineering fair is an amazing opportunity for students, one that in some cases leads to life-changing experiences and outcomes. Thank you for serving students by enabling them to get involved!
In many cases, the Adult Sponsor is a student’s teacher. But sometimes the Adult Sponsor is a parent or interested adult. Any interested and conscientious adult can serve as a student’s Adult Sponsor.
Some things you should know
Adult Sponsor role vs. Mentor role: Students will invite two adults to participate and support them in two different roles. One adult will serve as the Adult Sponsor, who assists the student with administrative tasks. Another adult will serve as the student’s Mentor, focusing their input on the technical aspects of the project. Mentors are also called “Qualified Scientists.” Mentors are often the Qualified Scientists that may have to fill out some forms. However, the Adult Sponsor makes sure that the student is filling the corrrect forms.
Adult Sponsor role vs. Teacher (Representative) role: The teacher representative is the “Teacher” figure that registers on STEMWizard for the student researcher. Every student must have a Teacher Repersentative that signs up on STEMWizard before the student registers. Oftentimes, the Adult Sponsor is the student’s Teacher as well, but this is noot always the case.
Estimated total time it will take for you to serve as a Sponsor for the next 6 months of the project: While the time involved may vary, in most cases this does not involve a large time commitment. An adult sponsor mainly serves as a guide or liaison between the student and the science fair (for example: reminding the student of paperwork deadlines, or to respond to questions/input from the science fair staff or a Mentor). While you would be welcome to advise the student on the technical aspects of the project, that is usually the responsibility of the student’s Mentor, not the Sponsor. The Adult Sponsor is a general advisor, focused on helping the student pay attention to administrative things… deadlines, paperwork, and good communication with others.
It will be a Virtual Fair: In these days of Covid-19, all fair communications and competitions will be held virtually. We’ll be advising everyone of the virtual platforms and procedures for participation.
Responsibilities of an Adult Sponsor: The responsibilities of the Adult Sponsor are largely administrative… helping with the paperwork process, advising on general safety and COVID safety, checking on student’s progress on the project, checking & verifying good communications with others, including science fair staff members. This could be done by interacting with the student each week, biweekly or even monthly at the least.
ISEF’s explanation of the role and responsibilities of the “Adult Sponsor” and the “Qualified Scientist” are listed on this page.