Science fair paperwork pretty much parallels university level lab research paperwork.  Anything biological requires an assessment of the level of lab required, it requires that the lab be correctly supervised, etc, etc.  The old days where a kid could do about anything are long gone.  Certainly some attention to safety is appropriate.  But the article is correct in that no kid could deal with the mountain of paperwork required all by themselves.  And the penalty for missing a piece of the paperwork is severe -- no entry for you.<p>In fact, it has given rise to a cottage industry of science fair mentors-for-hire.  If you can find a highly enough motivated high school teacher to manage the paperwork, and can find a lab that has the correct rating for whatever you are doing, then great for you.  Otherwise, there are a few places that can provide lab space and a mentor at an hourly fee, not to mention experience in getting the mountain of paperwork correct.  It is good to have money to rub on the problem -- I&#x27;m sure a lot of kids get left behind because of that.<p>My daughter did an electronics project -- and the paperwork was still daunting, even though we could check &quot;N&#x2F;A&quot; to all the biohazzard management sections, lab-has-eyewash, mentor qualified to handle animal tissues, etc.  We still had to submit schematics and test plan material -- which is OK I guess because it is probably worthwhile to see if the project involves a direct connection to 220V AC mains before things get out of hand.<p>In the end though, one of the biggest problems with science fairs is getting enough qualified judges.  The kids pour countless hours into the project, and hope for a 5-10 minute visit from 4 judges.  If you are lucky, the judge might actually have a clue about your area of science or technology.  Then the judging team tries to figure out some winners.  One of the best ways anyone here on HN could help is to volunteer an afternoon per year to be a judge.  Fairs are <i>always</i> short of qualified judges.  Heck, they are short of judges that can fog a mirror.  The best thing you can do for these kids is give them your time to encourage them and hopefully nudge the system towards a rational result.