LOS ANGELES COUNTY SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR | The 76th Annual Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair will take place March 8-9 2026 at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, CA

Our website is currently under construction! But we are keeping things current, so please keep checking back for updates!

STUDENTS STARTING THEIR 2027 PROJECT DURING SUMMER

(*NEW THIS YEAR)

All students whose project involves any one or more of the following items will require LACSEF pre-approval BEFORE starting experimentation for their project.

Human Participants
Vertebrates and Higher Functioning Invertebrates
Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents (includes microbes, tissue/cell lines, organs, organ parts, blood products, rDNA, phages)
Hazardous Chemicals, Activities or Devices (HCAD)

While the LACSEF online portal for pre-approval will be available in August for students who are experimenting during the school year, if you plan to start your project before August, you MUST obtain LACSEF SRC pre-approval BEFORE you begin your experimentation. Students can do this by completing the appropriate LACSEF template(s) and send via email to pre-approval@lascifair.org. You will be contacted if you need to make changes and when your pre-approval request has been approved.

*PLEASE NOTE: Although LACSEF has made a few exceptions in the past, going forward, all projects requiring LACSEF pre-approval will need to have received such approval BEFORE experimentation begins. NO EXCEPTIONS. Experimentation completed before pre-approval has been obtained will be ineligible for the 2027 LACSEF Fair.

Please complete the appropriate LACSEF pre-approval template(s). Discuss with your supervisors that all details of your project (procedure, safety, disposal etc.) meet their approval. Please be sure to include the email addresses of all adults that need to VERIFY your proposal (Site Coordinator, Adult Supervisor, Biomedical Scientist etc. as applicable). We will reach out to them for verification. Save as a PDF, and email to pre-approval@lascifair.org as soon as possible. Once the portal opens in August, you can easily copy/paste your pre-approved project information into the online system.

LACSEF templates can be found here. You do not need to complete this in one sitting. You can save and complete it at a later date.

STEPS TO OBTAIN PRE-APPROVAL DURING SUMMER:

1. Complete the appropriate LACSEF template.

2. Confirm with your supervisor(s) that the project details meets their approval.

3. Save as PDF (include your full name and form name in the file name – example: JohnDoeVertebrate, JaneSmithHCAD).

4. Email to LACSEF.

5. LACSEF will email your supervisor and site coordinator for verifications.

6. Wait for us to review.

7. Make corrections as instructed (if applicable).

8. Receive approval.

9. Begin Project.

If you have any questions about which LACSEF templates to complete, please reach out to us via email pre-approval@lascifair.org

______________________________________________________

Thank you to our 2026 Sponsors!
This event is impossible without support!

Please visit here to see our list of Special Awards sponsors!

We have been honored with one of the first Top-Rated Awards of 2024 from GreatNonprofits! We appreciate all of your contributions!

We are a 501(c)(3) all-volunteer organization and must rely on donations to be able to hold our annual event. Please consider donating to ensure that our Fair continues.