The 12th annual Southeast Regional Science Fair may be the biggest one yet as more schools have indicated they will be taking part, says organizer and science teacher Leo Carteri.

The fair will be held on Wednesday, March 19 at Fillmore's 33 Central School, with around 140 entries expected to fill the school's gymnasium, exceeding last year's total of 130 exhibitions.

Organizers at the school will get ready by setting the tables up the day before, and the exhibits will be up and in place by 8:30-9 a.m. on Wednesday, said Carteri.

Judging will start around 9:30 a.m. and should be wrapped up by 1 p.m. The exhibits will be open for public viewing at 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., with the awards presentation to start around 2:30-3 p.m.

Entries will be in three categories: junior, grades 7-8; intermediate, grades 9-10; and senior, grades 11-12. In each category, the entries will be entered under the relevant division, including life science, physical science, engineering, computer science and bio-technology.

There will be medals and special awards for each division, with top awards given for each category, and the top four overall winners will be named.

Of the top four, the first and second place entries will go to the Canada-Wide Science Fair, to be held this year in Calgary on May 11-18.

The third and fourth place entries will go to the Winners' Showcase in Regina at the Science Centre. In addition, some of the medal winners from the Canada-Wide Science Fair will also be featured at the Regina showcase.

In addition to the prestige of winning medals at the national level, Carteri pointed out there is a monetary benefit to the top-awarded entries. A gold medal at the Canada-Wide fair is worth about $1,500 in awards, and special awards can earn the students $3-5,000. The overall top project at the Canada-Wide fair can earn as much as $15,000 in prizes.

There will be over 30 judges for the various divisions, including teachers from the participating schools, as well as engineers from SaskEnergy and staff from the Fillmore Health Care Centre, said Carteri.

The Weyburn Comp and St. Michael Junior High will be among the schools taking part in the regional science fair, including around 15 displays from the Comp alone, a large increase over last year. The Comp was able to host its own science fair earlier this year. Some new schools joining the competition this year include Carlyle, Alida and Kipling schools.