Safety Guidelines for Experimental and Design Investigations

On this page
  1. Why Are These Rules Necessary?
  2. Before Beginning a Project, Students and Sponsors Must…
  3. General Safety Rules for All Projects
  4. AI Usage During Research
  5. Special Rules for Work Done at a Certified Laboratory
  6. If Students or Sponsors have questions about Safety Assessment:
  7. Which Safety Rules May Apply to a Project?

Why Are These Rules Necessary?

Many science and engineering projects involve chemicals, equipment, electricity, heat, or other potential hazards. Following safe laboratory practices helps protect students, sponsors, judges, families, and the environment. Professional scientists receive safety training before working in laboratories. These rules are designed to help students learn and follow the same safe laboratory practices expected in schools, universities, and research facilities.

Projects that do not follow these safety rules may be disqualified from any Illinois Junior Academy of Science (IJAS) Science Fair or Exposition.

Before Beginning a Project, Students and Sponsors Must…

  1. Read these General Laboratory Safety Rules below and read any additional safety sections that apply to student projects.
  2. High School students must also read ALL ISEF Safety Rules.
  3. All sponsors must discuss the proper use of AI in research with all of their students.
  4. Write the procedure for the research project following all IJAS and ISEF (high school) safety rules. High School students will use this in their ISEF Research Plan form 1A.
  5. Complete a Background Research document or Literature Review. High School students will use this in their ISEF Research Plan form 1A.
  6. Complete the required Safety Sheets and any necessary endorsement form(s). High School students must use the ISEF forms, and Middle School students should use the IJAS forms in this manual.

General Safety Rules for All Projects

All students must:

  • work under the supervision of a responsible adult;
  • wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), such as safety glasses, gloves, or protective clothing, whenever required by the project;
  • use equipment only as instructed and for its intended purpose;
  • keep work areas clean and organized;
  • follow all school, laboratory, local, state, and federal safety rules and regulations; and
  • safely store and properly dispose of all chemicals, biological materials, and other hazardous waste.
  • keep all completed approval forms and safety documentation with the project records.

Additionally, sponsors are responsible for teaching students safe laboratory practices before experimentation begins.

AI Usage During Research

All sponsors are responsible for discussing the proper use of AI in research with all of their students, both middle and high school.. Generative AI may be used as a support tool in student research, but it may not replace the student’s own thinking, analysis, interpretation, or writing. Students are responsible for verifying AI-generated information and citations, documenting AI use when required, and following all applicable ISEF rules regarding acceptable and unacceptable uses of generative AI.

See the full ISEF Generative AI Use Guidelines for details and examples.

If a student uses an artificial intelligence (AI) tool at any stage of the project, the student must complete an AI Disclosure Statement when registering for the regional science fair. The disclosure must identify the AI tool used and explain how it was used in the project. This requirement applies to AI use during project development, experimentation, data analysis, coding, writing, editing, creation of figures or images, and preparation of presentation materials.

Special Rules for Work Done at a Certified Laboratory

If research is conducted at a certified laboratory or research facility, high school students must complete the “Regulated Institution - 2C” form. Middle school students must include a letter from the laboratory director or supervising scientist along with the safety sheet and any appropriate endorsement form. The letter must verify that:

  • the research was conducted under appropriate adult supervision;
  • the student followed all required laboratory safety procedures;
  • the laboratory is certified or otherwise authorized to conduct the research;
  • the supervising scientist’s name, title, and contact information are provided; and
  • the work described in the project was completed at that facility.
  • approval from the institution’s IRB and/or SRC

If Students or Sponsors have questions about Safety Assessment:

After reading the rules in this document, students or sponsors may have questions about assessing safety. If a teacher sponsor is unsure whether a student project can be done safely, the sponsor should ask the Regional Safety Chair before a student begins their research. The Regional Safety Chair may ask the State Safety Chair for clarification. Students and parents may NOT contact the Regional Safety Chair or State Safety Chair directly. Instructions for contacting the State Safety Chair can be found using this link.

Middle school projects must follow the rules in the IJAS Policy and Procedure Manual. High school students must also follow all the rules in the ISEF Safety Rules.

Which Safety Rules May Apply to a Project?

In addition to these General Laboratory Safety Rules, students and sponsors must read the section(s) below that apply to the project.

If a project involves… Read this section (in addition to the General Rules).
Chemicals - Even common household chemicals
Burning anything
Heating anything beyond room temperature
Radiation - Lasers, UV light, x-rays, nuclear radiation		 Chemical, Fire, Heat and Radiation Safety
Computer Programming
Artificial Intelligence in any part of the project
Creating Apps, Robots or other programmable devices
Large Data Sets that were not measured by student
Robots or other programmable devices		 Computer, Artificial Intelligence and Data Projects
Firearms/Guns of any kind
Rockets
Fireworks
Explosives		 Firearms, Explosives, Rockets, and Projectile Safety
Drones
Electrical devices
Motors
Engineered machinery
Tools
Vehicles - full sized or models		 Electrical, Drone and Mechanical Safety
Giving humans surveys or tests of any kind
Testing human reactions or senses
Humans eating or drinking anything
Humans doing physical activity
Humans learning or being tested on something
Observing people in public
Human mental health
Human testing of an engineered device, app, game or website		 Use and Care of Human Participants
Bacteria or Viruses
Mold – even from bread or rotting food
Fuel cells or compost involving soil or bacteria
Water testing for bacteria or fecal contaminants		 Use and Care of Live Biological Material (excluding vertebrate animals)
Any vertebrate animals or materials from them, except for humans Use and Care of Non-Human Vertebrate Animals
A topic or method that can potentially be conducted safely but may appear to conflict with or violate an IJAS Safety Rule
Involves a situation that is not clearly addressed by the IJAS Safety Rules		 Contacting the SRC for Project Approval

Table of contents