Eligibility Criteria for Participation It is It is open for children, other than CWD (Children with Disabilities), in the age group of 10 years to 14 years (lower age group) and from 14+ years to 17 years (upper age group) as on December 31 of the year they participate. However, children under CWD (Children with Disabilities) group will have no restrictions of age group. Usually 6 ^th to 9 ^th standard children will come under junior group and 10 ^th to 12 ^th standard children under senior group, irrespective of their ages.

Mode of participation From the year 2018, a team of only two children will form a group. A child scientist can participate at the national CSC only once as group leader in the same age group. Note: Parents, whose child would participate in the Children's Science Congress in the ensuing year, should not hold any portfolio in the organising/academic committees or act as an evaluator of the CSC conducted at any level. Else, the project may be disqualified for presentation in CSC.

Nature of CSC Projects

CSC projects are

• Innovative, simple and practical
• Representing teamwork
• Based on exploration of everyday life-situations
• Involving field based data collection
• Having definite outputs, arrived to draw an inference using simple methods of science and research methodology
• Related directly to community from which/where the problem has been
addressed
• Having follow-up plans and action.

Criteria of Good Projects

A project needs to satisfy following criterion to be adjudged as a good CSC project.

• Originality and innovativeness of the topic
• Understanding the problem and to find the possible solution using methods of science and its application through experimentation
• Quality and quantity of work, including team work, learning process, methods of science applied, experimentation and validation
• Relevance of the proposal to the community/school and impact of the study on the schoolmates and/or community

The Project should follow the steps of SMART approach