An off-stage item in which an entrant presents a science or technology project, and the panel judges the idea, how well it works, the evidence behind it and how clearly it is explained.
Science and Technology is a project class. Rather than performing, the entrant brings a piece of work, such as a working model, an experiment, a gadget, a simple piece of engineering or a coded program, and the panel judges what was made and how well it is understood. It gives pupils who like finding out how things work the same medals, ranking and recognition as the singers and dancers in the same festival.
The exact format is set by the festival notice, so organisers should state it plainly. Some festivals ask for a finished project to be submitted and displayed for judges to examine; others invite the entrant to stand beside the work and answer questions for a few minutes. A good entry has a clear question or purpose, a method that can be followed, results or a demonstration, and a short conclusion. A model that visibly works, or an experiment with recorded observations, is far easier to credit than a display of finished-looking parts.
On the eTalenter Welsh youth festival template it sits in the Off Stage category as an Individual item for boys and girls together, in Welsh, across seven school-year bands: Year 2 and under, Years 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, 10-11, 12-13 and a 14-25 band. The published rules print no marking scheme and no time limit for the item, so the 100-mark total and the 10-minute field are the app’s defaults. An organiser should replace them with whatever their own notice says, including any limits on size, materials, electrical safety and whether the work must be the entrant’s own.
Organisers keep a science and technology class because it links the festival to what pupils study in school, rewards curiosity and practical skill, and brings in entrants who would never join a stage item. For a teacher it turns a classroom investigation into a real deadline with an outside panel.
Where Science and Technology is run
On the eTalenter templates this item appears once, on the Welsh-language youth arts festival template in Wales, in the Off Stage category with seven classes, one per school-year band. Science and technology fairs and project classes are widely run by schools, science societies and youth festivals in many countries, but this page describes the item as set up on that template, so entrants elsewhere should check their own notice for the format, size limits and whether a display, a demonstration or a spoken explanation is expected.
- Wales
Key facts
- Individual item: one entrant, one project, boys and girls together
- Seven bands by school year, from Year 2 and under to a 14-25 band
- Language is fixed to Welsh on the Welsh template
- Off-stage: the project and the understanding behind it are judged, not a stage performance
- Marked out of 100 on the template; this total and the 10-minute field are app defaults because the published rules print no figures
- Idea (not a rule): a water filter built from sand and gravel, a simple circuit-based alarm, a plant-growth comparison under different light, or a small program that sorts a list; choose one that fits your band and your notice
On eTalenter, Science and Technology is filed under Off Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Science and Technology is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Science and Technology
What a Science and Technology panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Idea and originality: a clear question or purpose that the entrant chose, not a copy of a well-known kit or textbook model
- Scientific or technical soundness: the method makes sense, the result follows from it and the entrant has not claimed more than the evidence shows
- Working or demonstration: the model runs, the experiment gives a result and the entrant can show it rather than describe it
- Evidence and recording: measurements, observations, sketches or test results that back up the conclusion
- Explanation: the entrant can say what they did, why, what went wrong and what they would change
- Craft and presentation: a tidy, safe, well-labelled project that is robust enough to be handled by judges
- Suitability to the band: ambition matched to the entrant’s age and finished well rather than overreached
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Science and Technology under Scoring Setup, or start from the judge scoring and tabulation guide.
How to prepare for Science and Technology
How entrants and their teachers usually get Science and Technology right on the day:
- Read the notice first and note the size limit, material rules, safety rules and whether you present beside the work or submit it
- Choose a question you are genuinely curious about; a smaller idea you understand beats a large one you cannot explain
- Plan backwards from the festival date: pick the topic, test it, fix what failed, then rehearse the explanation
- Keep a simple notebook of what you tried, what you measured and what failed; judges value honest records
- Test the project several times, and carry spare batteries, tape, tools or a printed copy of your program
- Practise a one-minute explanation and then answer questions from a friend who has not seen the project before
- Check safety with an adult: no loose mains wiring, sharp edges or open flames unless the notice allows supervised use
- Label parts and results clearly so a judge can follow the work without you
- A teacher can guide and check safety, but the thinking, building and explaining should be the entrant’s own
Ready-made event templates that include Science and Technology
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urdd Eisteddfod (Wales) | Off Stage | Marks | 7 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Science and Technology judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is Science and Technology a performance item?
No. It is an off-stage item in which the project and the entrant’s understanding of it are judged. Check your own notice for whether you submit the work or present it in person.
Does the project have to work?
A working demonstration is usually the strongest evidence, but an honest investigation whose result was unexpected can still score well if the method and recording are sound. Follow the guidance in your festival notice.
How is Science and Technology marked?
The template marks it out of 100 as an app default. The published rules print no scheme, so an organiser can replace the total with their own.
Is it judged individually or as a team?
Individually. Each entrant enters their own project within their school-year band.
Which age groups does it cover?
On the Welsh template there are seven bands: Year 2 and under, Years 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, 10-11, 12-13 and a 14-25 band.
Want the full judging picture? Read the judge scoring and tabulation guide, or browse every off stage competition item.
Try Science and Technology in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Science and Technology, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
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