Florida Junior Academy of Science

FJAS is the Florida Junior Academy of Science, a division of the Florida Academy of Sciences (FAS).

FJAS offers students in grades 6 through 12 another opportunity to compete at the state level with your scientific research. One award that is only available to FJAS competitors is the opportunity to present research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Junior Academy of Sciences (AJAS) conferences in February.

In addition FJAS competitors usually win more awards at State Science & Engineering Fair. In the past 10 years the students competing at both FJAS and the State Science & Engineering Fair (SSEF) have won significantly more place awards, including 1st and 2nd place awards at SSEF. This difference may be due to:

• the additional preparation time for competition
• the additional interaction with judges
• students previewing some of their SSEF competition

Whatever the reason, the same results have been found every year the data has been analyzed!

Similarities of FJAS and SSEF:

• Students must use ISEF forms and obtain appropriate approvals PRIOR to experimentation
• Students compete with their peers in Junior and Senior divisions
• Students are judged by university professors and scientists in the field
• Students are awarded plaques and other awards

Differences between FJAS & SSEF:

At FJAS:
• Only FJAS members can compete
• Literary research is a category
• Only individual research is presented
• Research papers are submitted for a preliminary judging by January 31st instead of competing at a regional fair
• Ten to 12 students are selected to compete in each session at the state competition
• Oral presentations are given usually with power points, not a board - similar to JSEH Symposium
• Sessions may combine related categories based on the number of entries
• Members receive information through 3 newsletters a year, either by mail or from the website
• Student observers, parents, teachers are welcome at the competition

The membership application is available on the website.

Dues should be received by December 31st:

• $10 for full membership
  • - includes 3-4 mailings
• $5 for “web” membership
  • - information is obtained from the website through the newsletters
  • - only the club card and receipt are mailed
• Late “web” memberships are $10

The FJAS strives to:

1. Discover and encourage scientific aptitude in Florida students.
2. Foster fellowship between FAS and FAS members.
3. Develop a background in FJAS members that will eventually result in membership in senior organizations.

To meet these goals, FJAS holds an annual competition of middle and high school students in March.

The 2009 Competition will be held on March 21st at St. Leo University.

Still have questions? To find out more about FJAS:
Contact the FJAS Coordinator:
Patricia L Zalo
2812 26th Avenue Dr W
Bradenton FL 34205-3707
pzalo@yahoo.com