The Complete Guide to Utah's Science & Engineering Fairs

If you're a Utah student looking to compete in science fair, here's the first thing to understand: Utah doesn't have a single state science fair.

Instead, it runs on a set of independent, ISEF-affiliated regional fairs, each serving specific school districts and each sending its own top projects directly to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

So the fair you compete at depends on where you go to school, and your path to the international stage runs through your regional fair, not a statewide championship. This guide covers all of Utah's regional fairs, how to find yours, and how to build a project that wins its way to ISEF.

Utah's Regional Science Fairs

Find your fair by school district or county below, then aim to place high enough to advance to ISEF. Dates are for the 2026 cycle, always confirm the current schedule and deadlines on each fair's official site, as they shift annually.

A Path for Middle Schoolers: The Thermo Fisher JIC

It's not just high schoolers with a path beyond Utah. These fairs also nominate top projects from grades 6–8 to the Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge (JIC), the premier national STEM competition for middle school students. So whether you're in middle or high school, a strong project at your regional fair can carry you to a national or international stage.

That keeps it tight, sits naturally under the fairs table (where a reader is already thinking about which fair applies to them), and frames JIC as the middle-school counterpart to the ISEF path.

Spotlight: The University of Utah Science & Engineering Fair (USEF)

The largest and best-known of Utah's regional fairs, USEF is the highest level of science fair competition available to students in the Salt Lake area and surrounding districts, and it's a useful model for how these fairs generally run.

Each year it brings together hundreds of qualifying students to present research across 12 categories, grouped into three divisions: elementary (grades 5–6), junior (grades 7–8), and senior (grades 9–12). Projects placing first through fourth in each category earn cash awards and trophies, with additional special awards and Scientific Merit Awards recognizing sound methodology and scientific thinking.

The biggest prize is advancement: each year, USEF selects six senior-division projects to compete at Regeneron ISEF.

In 2026, two of those Grand Champion winners came from a single Salt Lake school, one evaluating an AI model's ability to predict pathogenic cancer mutations, the other analyzing tumor microenvironment signatures in solid tumors.

Other standout senior-division projects that year ranged widely: a soybean-based method to prevent wind erosion, a simulator and app to raise awareness of different types of blindness, a machine-learning system for automated table recognition, and a model of cadmium distribution in solar photovoltaics.

It's a good illustration of what tends to win: specific, rigorous questions with real-world relevance, and the trajectory a standout project at any of Utah's regional fairs can launch.

Winning at Utah's Science & Engineering Fairs

Choosing a Strong Research Idea

Pick a topic you're genuinely passionate about, one that's original, addresses a real-world problem, and shows off your scientific thinking. Think about current global challenges, gaps in existing research, or fresh solutions to everyday problems, then refine your idea through thorough background research to confirm it's both novel and feasible.

Landing on the right question is often the hardest part, and our guide to crafting the perfect science fair question walks through exactly how.

Conduct Thorough Research

Solid research is the backbone of any winning project. Start with a comprehensive literature review using reputable sources like scientific journals and academic books, then collect data with reliable, valid methods, gathering enough to support your conclusions.

Analyze it using appropriate statistical or qualitative methods, and be ready to explain your analysis clearly. Throughout, follow a systematic approach, the scientific method for science projects (question, research, hypothesis, experiment, analyze, conclude) or the engineering design process for engineering projects (define the problem, research and design, prototype, test and evaluate, communicate).

Prepare a Stellar Presentation

Your presentation is your chance to shine. Build a well-organized display board that clearly communicates your research question, methodology, results, and conclusions, then rehearse your oral presentation extensively: be clear and concise, show genuine enthusiasm, use visual aids well, and anticipate the questions judges might ask.

That last point matters more than most students expect, at these fairs, judging leans heavily on the student interview.

Our guide to the science fair Q&A with judges covers how to prepare for it.

How Judging Works

Projects are judged on their own merits across several criteria: the objectives or problem statement, design and procedures, data and results, discussion and conclusions, the interview and display, and (for team projects) teamwork.

Judges rely on your board, your project notebook, and other materials on display, but most importantly on the interview, so knowing your project inside and out is essential.

Seek Mentorship

A good mentor can be a game-changer, helping you refine your research question, troubleshoot experiments, and sharpen your presentation. Our guide on how to get advice from a science fair winner covers how to find someone whose experience can genuinely elevate your project.

Beyond Utah: Advancing to ISEF

Whichever regional fair you compete at, the ultimate goal is the same: advancing to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world's largest pre-college science competition, where each Utah fair sends its own top senior-division projects.

To be eligible, you'll need to be in grades 9–12 (and under age 20 by the competition) and win at your ISEF-affiliated regional fair. Our step-by-step guide to qualifying for ISEF maps out the full path.

Equip Yourself to Win with ScienceFair

Winning at any of Utah's science fairs, and advancing to ISEF, takes a strong, original project, rigorous research, and a confident presentation. That's exactly what ScienceFair helps you build. Every coach on our team is a past science fair winner, and alongside our Ivy League research mentors, they'll help you refine your idea, strengthen your research, and prepare for the judges' Q&A.

Ready to make your run at ISEF? Schedule a call with our academic advisor.