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Safety and Ethics
Posted By Steph Thiel On January 20, 2015 @ 1:15 am In | Comments Disabled
It’s My Hamster – When Science Fair Meets Ethics by Lauren Hudson |
As a teacher, I always encourage my students to select Science Fair topics that genuinely interest them rather than the typical projects from library books and websites. Every year, students want to test how products affect them or how their pet is influenced by different conditions. I think that this is only natural; we want to know more about what is familiar to us. However, there are ethical issues to consider. In the “real world”, scientists are expected to conduct their work ethically, so must we encourage our young scientists to contemplate the impact of their experiments. Policies set in place by Youth Science Canada not only govern the projects that may enter the Canada Wide Science Fair but also all regional Science Fair chapters, including the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair. Become familiar with the ethics documents at the following website to avoid having disappointed students:
Youth Science Canada Ethics Guidelines [1](old) or mySTEM Ethics page [2] |
Use the following points as a rough guide:
USEFUL SAFETY & ETHICS DOCUMENTS
Go to the Useful Links/Ethics [3] page for the following forms:
(1) Consent Form for human participants – Options: (1) Editable form; (2) Blank printable form; (3) Filled-in example
(2) Request for Ethics Ruling form
STEM Projects and COVID-19
We enter the current STEM fair season during the highest infection rates recorded in Canada. All STEM fair projects must adhere to the safety standards in place in their province and municipality to support the health and safety of all participants, including the youth carrying out the project. All local COVID-19 protocols must be followed in detail. Projects that fail to observe COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time they are carried out are ineligible to participate in STEM fairs. It is the responsibility of the region to determine whether this is the case.
All students working on STEM fair projects are encouraged to find alternatives to using human participants where possible.
National Ethics & Safety Committee
Youth Science Canada
At the start of the Science Fair, immediately after you have set up your project display, a safety check will take place. For your safety and the safety of others attending the fair, all projects must comply with the VIRSF safety requirements. Failure to follow these rules and requirements may result in disqualification at the fair.
The following items are NOT permitted and shall be removed from your display. Take pictures and bring photos of your project or experiment instead!
Fire Hazards
Electrical hazards
Electronic equipment
Biohazards
Images of Humans
Animals and Animal Parts
Firearms, Hazardous Materials, and Equipment
Structural and Mechanical Safety
Chemical Safety
Article printed from SAYS: https://www.virsf.ca
URL to article: https://www.virsf.ca/?page_id=204
URLs in this post:
[1] Youth Science Canada Ethics Guidelines : https://web.archive.org/web/20200929011852/https://youthscience.ca/Introduction%20to%20Ethics
[2] mySTEM Ethics page: https://mystemspace.ca/start-a-project/safety-and-ethics/
[3] Useful Links/Ethics: https://www.virsf.ca/?page_id=770
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