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Information
Judges Info
The Fair has three sets of judges:
Category Awards Judges
These judges decide the Fair's own placements (first through third) in each of the categories of the Junior and Senior Divisions. Category Judging will take place on Wednesday morning, March 18th, 2026 from 7:30am–12:00pm.
Grand Awards Judges
These judges decide on the Fair's top awards in Life and Physical Sciences. Grand Awards Judging will take place on Wednesday afternoon, March 18th, 2026 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.
Special Awards (Registered Professional Societies)
These judges choose among the participants based on specific criteria, as described on this page. Special Awards Judging will take place during assigned periods per organization on Wednesday, March 18th, 2026.
Judging Descriptions
Category Awards Judging
The Greater San Diego Science & Engineering Fair is an exciting and important San Diego community event that relies entirely on the generosity of our community's volunteers. The Fair will usually have over 400 science projects on display and the over 450 6th-12th graders who produced them. Being a judge is a lot more fun than you might think, mostly requiring just listening to enthusiastic young kids tell you what they did. For anyone new to judging, there is a great deal of advice regarding how to judge and what kinds of questions to ask on this page. Category Judging is always done in teams, so each team will have an experienced captain and others who can advise new judges. You don’t need to be a PhD (although we do appreciate having PhD’s on our judging teams). You do need a background in science, math, computers, or engineering (except perhaps for the Product Testing category), and a good knowledge of the scientific method.
Grand Awards Judging (formerly Sweepstakes Awards Judging)
These are the very best projects in the Fair. Projects recommended for Grand Award consideration are reviewed by teams of our most experienced judges during the afternoon judging session (5 or more years of experience are required). Four Grand Award and four Runners-up are selected in both Junior (7th-8th grade) and Senior (9th-12th grade) Divisions.
Special Awards Judging
Numerous professional societies and other organizations present Special Awards at the GSDSEF. Each provides its own judges and sets its own criteria for awards. Details are described on this page.