The Tasmanian Science Talent Search 2026

Seeds of Science: Nurturing Knowledge for All

Themed category submission due: 23 September 2026
Open category submission due: 23 September 2026

About - TSTS 2026
Submission Information
Themed Categories Submission Form
Open Categories Submission Form

The Tasmania Science Talent Search 2026 PDF can be found: TSTS 2026

TSTS 2026 – General Information

About the Tasmanian Science Talent Search

The Tasmanian Science Talent Search (TSTS) is an initiative of the Science Teachers Association of Tasmania. It has been operating consistently for more than 60 years (although not always under the same name) and has involved over 60 000 students across Tasmania.

Through TSTS we aim to inspire a lifelong interest in science, promote high quality teaching and learning, & highlight a national path to science and STEM excellence.

The National Science Week 2026 SchoolsTheme is Seeds of Science: Nurturing Knowledge for All. This theme invites students to explore the power of curiosity, inquiry and shared learning in growing scientific understanding. Just as seeds need the right conditions to grow, knowledge flourishes when it is nurtured, shared and applied to real-world and authentic challenges across all the scientific disciplines.

The theme encourages students to explore how ideas take root, develop and spread – from the first spark of a question to the sharing of discoveries that benefit the wider community. It’s a celebration of how knowledge grows when tended with care, creativity and collaboration.

‘Seeds of Science is about inspiring the next generation to plant ideas, ask questions and grow innovative and creative solutions,’ said Margaret Shepherd, ASTA President. ‘It’s an invitation for students to see science as a living, evolving process that they can shape and share. There are many scientific concepts that can be investigated through this theme such as biotechnology, agriculture, aquaculture, quantum sensing and nanotechnology.’

For resources and more information, check out the National Science Week Website.

Categories

THEMED
– Picture Book
– Creative Writing
– Posters and Infographics
– Photographic Essay
– Videos
– Scientific Essays
– Innovation Challenge

OPEN
– Research Investigations
– Environmental Science Project
– Engineering & Inventions

Divisions

Please note not all divisions are eligible for all categories. See the category information for details.

Division 1: K – 2
Division 2: 3 – 4
Division 3: 5 – 6
Division 4: 7 – 8
Division 5: 9 – 10
Division 6: 11 – 12

Please note that not all categories
are available in all divisions.
See the category pages for details.

Contact and Help

For all queries please contact TSTS Coordinator – Steve Foskett via tsts@stat.org.au

Marking Criteria

  1. Book includes a clear scientific concept relevant to the theme
  2. Book includes an accurate portrayal of the scientific concept
  3. Creativity of storyline
  4. Visual impact
  5. Adherence to guidelines

Submission Information

Conditions of Entry


TSTS 2026 is open to all Tasmanian students K – 12. All entries must be submitted via the stat.org.au
website, following the required submission procedure. STAT expects that work submitted to the TSTS is of a high standard. On the rare occasion that entries do not meet that standard the judging committee reserves the right not to award prizes in any division. Entires submitted to the TSTS may be displayed on the STAT website or shared at presentation events. The Tasmanian Science Talent Search reserves the right to publish entries, entrants names, and any
photographs taken at TSTS related events.
If possible, students in Divisions 4 – 6 who submit entries for Creative Writing, Scientific Essay, STEM
Challenge, Research Investigations, Environmental Science Projects, or Invention & Engineering Projects
should pass their work through Turnitin and submit the report with their entry.
If students are not able to access Turnitin, the judges reserve the right to submit a student’s entry for
checking. A risk assessment is required for all TSTS entries in the Open Section categories & the STEM Challenge. A risk assessment form can be found at the end of this booklet. Entries that do not follow submission guidelines for their category will not be considered. Please read the
entry guidelines carefully. For the Inventions & Engineering Project category, models and inventions may contain commercially
available components but must not be solely assembled from or based on commercially available kits.

Entry Fees

School STAT Member: With a TSTS Membership Package – unlimited entries
Individual STAT Member: With a TSTS Membership Package – unlimited entries
STAT Member: $10 per entry
Non-STAT Member: $25 per entry

 

Safety Considerations

Students and their supervising teachers or parents should ensure that their science entries are conducted in a responsible and safe manner.

Projects involving microorganisms will only be accepted if adequate safety precautions are evident and the microorganisms present no threat to the health of individuals or the environment.

Projects involving hazardous chemicals, explosives, rocket fuels, detrimental to the environment, or potentially harmful to individuals will not be accepted.

All electrical experiments should not be in excess of 32 volts AC or 115 volts DC.

Projects involving illegal activities will not be accepted.

Electronic Submission Requirements

All entries must be submitted via the Tasmanian Science Talent Search following submission procedures. All entries should be submitted as PDFs except in the video category where a weblink should be provided.

Picture Book

Picture Book

This category is open to divisions 1-3

Entry Guidelines

  • Entries must be relevant to the topics of “Nurturing knowledge” or “Caring for nature” and be a work of fiction.
  • Entrants may be individuals or small groups (of up to 3 students). Divisions 1 and 2 may submit whole class entries.
  • Entries should include scientific concepts and information in the story.
  • Entries should consist primarily of pictures supported by minimal text.
  • An appendix including a brief explanation of 3-5 key scientific concepts or ideas used to develop the story should be included.
  • A bibliography listing all sources used to develop the entry should be included.
  • An acknowledgements statement listing any people who helped and what they did should be included in the submission.
  • Typed text is encouraged but not essential however, any handwriting should be clear and legible.
  • Pictures can be created using any medium.
  • Downloaded images cannot exceed 25% of total artwork and must be cited.

Word Limits

Division 1: 200 words

Divisions 2 – 3: 300 words

Submission Deadline

Friday 23 September 2026

 

What to do:

  1. Decide on the 3-5 key science ideas you
    want to cover in your entry.
  2. Create your picture book. Remember,
    artwork can be created using any
    medium and at least 75% should be
    original work. Handwriting is OK as
    long as it is clear and legible, but typed
    text is preferred.
  3. Add your appendix summarising the
    science ideas you used to develop your
    story.
  4. Add your bibliography and
    acknowledgments.
  5. Submit your picture book as an A4 or A3 PDF.

 

Resources and inspiration:

Exploring Picture Story Books
Writing Your Picture Story Book (PDF Download)

 

Marking Criteria

  1. The book includes a clear scientific concept relevant to the theme.
  2. The book includes an accurate portrayal of the scientific concept.
  3. The creativity of the storyline.
  4. Visual impact.
  5. Adherence to guidelines.

 

Creative Writing

This category is open to ALL DIVISIONS

Entry Guidelines

  • Entries must be relevant to the topic Seeds of Science: Nurturing knowledge for all.
  • Only individual entries will be considered for this category.
  • Entries must be imaginative. This could be a diary, letter, cartoon, play, narrative, fable, a poem, music lyrics or any other creative writing style you like.
  • Entries should include at least 3-5 key science concepts, which should be listed in an appendix.
  • A bibliography listing all sources used to develop the entry should be included.
  • An acknowledgements statement listing any people who helped and what they did should be included in the submission.
  • Typed text is encouraged but not essential. Any handwriting should be clear and legible.
  • Illustrations can be used to complement the writing or as an integral part of the text style. Any medium can be used.
  • Downloaded images cannot exceed 25% of total artwork and must be cited.

Word Limits

Division 1: 50 – 300 words

Division 2: 100 – 500 words

Divisions 3 – 6: 250 – 1000 words

Submission Deadline

Friday 23 September 2026

What to do:

1. Decide on the 3-5 key science ideas you
want to cover in your entry.
2. Write your piece. Be creative!
3. Add your appendix listing each
scientific idea covered in your entry.
For Divisions 3 and above, this
should include a short (1 – 3
sentence) explanation of each
concept.
4. Add your bibliography and
acknowledgments.
5. Submit your entry as an A4 PDF.

Marking Criteria

  1. The piece includes a clear scientific concept relevant to the theme.
  2. The piece includes an accurate portrayal of the scientific concept.
  3. There’s a clear integration of the concept into the piece.
  4. The piece displays the creativity of expression of the topic.
  5. Cohesion of elements is of a high quality.
  6. Adherence to guidelines.

Scientific Infographics – Posters

This category is open to all divisions

Entry Guidelines

  • Entries must be relevant to the topic Seeds of Science: Nurturing knowledge for all.
  • Possible themes to explore include but not limited to:
    • How does scientific knowledge benefit our community?
    • Explore how science is used in the field of agriculture, environmental science, horticulture, or biotechnology.
    • Explain how a scientific concept has evolved over time.
    • Investigate a current problem that could be solved by science – you could plant this scientific seed!

  • Only individual entries will be considered for this category.
  • Entries should be informed by personal research or be part of a learning sequence.

Divisions 1 – 3: POSTERS

  • Posters should integrate understanding of scientific concepts with artistic skill and interpretation.
  • Posters may combine graphic and text elements.
  • Typed text is encouraged but not essential. Handwriting should be clear and legible if used.

Divisions 4 – 6: INFOGRAPHICS

  • Entries should be in the style of a scientific infographic poster
  • Posters should integrate visual style and information and contain both graphic and textual elements
  • Typed text is encouraged but not essential, handwriting should be clear and legible if used.

Submission Deadline

Friday 23 September 2026

What to do:

1. Decide on the topic for your poster.
Posters should advertise a science
concept, issue or idea in a way that is
eye-catching, informative and/or
challenges a person’s thinking.
2. Create your entry.
3. Submit your poster as an A3 PDF.

Resources:

How to make an infographic

Marking Criteria

  1. Poster includes a clear scientific concept relevant to the theme.
  2. The Poster includes an accurate portyayl of the scientific concept.
  3. Poster displays the creativity in topic choice.
  4. Poster displays the creativity of expression of topic.
  5. Quality of poster presentation.
  6. Adherence to guidlines.

 

Photographic Essays

This category is open to divisions 2-6

Entry Guidelines

  • Entries must be relevant to the topic Seeds of Science: Nurturing knowledge for all.

  • Possible themes the explore include but not limited to:
    • People participating in activities that nurture knowledge.
    • Artistic representations of science being used in our communities.
    • Images of the natural world that inspire us to learn more.

  • Only individual entries will be considered for this category.
  • Entries should include a series of 6 – 8 photographs that tell a story.
  • Photographs must be taken by the entrant for the purpose of this competition.
  • Photos may be edited by the entrant.
  • Each photograph may include a caption of up to 20 words.
  • Photographs can be arranged in any sequence.
  • No photograph can exceed 1 MB and entries must not exceed 8 MB in total.
  • Include a numbered list of all photographs in the order they appear and state what if any editing has been performed.
  • An artist’s statement of up to 200 words, acknowledgments, and bibliography should be included in the entry.

Submission Deadline

Friday 23 September 2026

What to do:

1. Take your photographs and edit them
if you would like to.
2. Create your title page. This should
include your project name, your
name, the division you are entering,
and your school’s name.
3. Add your photos (one per page) in
any order you like. Photos may be
accompanied by a caption (up to 20
words each).
4. Write your artist’s statement (no more
than 200 words).
5. Add your bibliography and
acknowledgments.
6. Submit your essay as a PDF.

 

Marking Criteria

  1. Photographs highlight a clear scientific concept relevant to these.
  2. The artist’s statement/captions show an understanding of topic.
  3. Photographs highlight technical skills.
  4. The selection and sequence of photos tell a story.
  5. Artisits’ statements show a link between intention and outcome.
  6. Adherence to guidelines.

Videos

This category is open to ALL DIVISIONS

Entry Guidelines

  • Entries must be relevant to the topic Seeds of Science: Nurturing knowledge for all.
  • Entries may be submitted by individuals or by small groups of up to 3 students. Divisions 1 and 2 may submit whole class entries.
  • Entrants may choose any topic related to the theme and any genre.
  • Videos should be informed by personal research or be part of a learning sequence.
  • Videos must be the work of the entrant. Any footage from other sources must make up less than 10% of the final video.
  • Only the entrant may work on the editing and post-production of the video. Techniques taught by teachers etc must be done using unrelated footage.
  • Videos should be 90 seconds to 3 minutes long not including credits.
  • Credits should include roles of entrants, bibliography, acknowledgments, and a list of equipment and software used.
  • Credits should be up to 30 seconds long.

Submission Deadline

Friday 23 September 2026

What to do:

1. Choose the topic you wish to convey
in your video.
2. Write a script and plan your shoot.
Think about your use of sound, slow
motion, subtitles, animation, colour,
etc.
3. Film and edit your footage.
4. Include a credits section. Make sure
to add everyone involved and what
they did.
5. Upload your video to a video sharing
site like YouTube
6. Make sure your video can be viewed
by anyone with a link.
7. Submit your video by sharing a link to
your entry All entries must be
submitted via the www.stat.org.au
website, following the required
submission procedure.

Resources and inspiration

Sleek Geeks
MyState Filmmaking Guides

 

 

Marking Criteria

  1. The video highlights a clear scientific concept relevant to the theme.
  2. Scientific concepts are used accurately in the video.
  3. Video conveys a coherent message.
  4. Footage, editing, and sound are of a high quality.
  5. Video show clarity of expression and story.
  6. Adherence to guidelines.

 

Scientific Essays

This category is open to DIVISIONS 4 – 6

Entry Guidelines

  • Entrants may choose one of the following topics for their scientific essays:

    • In what ways does scientific knowledge enhance societal well‑being and safeguard communities?
    • What global strategies provide the most effective means of reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases currently in the atmosphere?

  • Indicate the topic choice in the title of your entry.
  • Only individual entries will be considered for this category.
  • The essay must incorporate scientific information and evidence
  • Essays should follow conventions of persuasive writing.
  • References should be cited in-text and a bibliography included at the end of the essay.
  • Include An acknowledgements paragraph listing anyone who assisted with the essay and what they did.
  • Formatting: Times New Roman or Arial font, 12 pt., 1.5 line spacing, 2.5 cm margins.

Word Limits

  • Division 4: 1200 words
  • Division 5: 1500 words
  • Division 6: 2000 words

Submission Deadline

Friday 23 September 2026

What to do:

1. Choose the topic you wish to write
your essay on. Make sure it is clear
which you have chosen.
2. Plan your essay. Write a thesis
statement, do some background
reading, and plan your arguments.
3. Write your essay. You may want to
use images, tables, or graphs to
support your argument, but these
should be used sparingly.
4. Cite your sources in-text and include
a bibliography.
5. Add an acknowledgements paragraph
at the end of your essay including
anyone who helped develop your
essay including in the planning or
editing stages.
6. Submit your essay as a PDF. All
entries must be submitted via the
www.stat.org.au website, following the
required submission procedure.

Resources and inspiration

Persuasive Writing
Plagiarism & Referencing

 

Marking Criteria

  1. Scientific concepts relevant to the theme were identified.
  2. Scientific concepts were described clearly and accurately.
  3. Essay contains an appropriate amount of scientific content
  4. Specialised vocabulary is used accurately.
  5. Information is presented in an engaging and informative manner.
  6. Adherence to guidelines.
  7. Conclusions drawn in the essay are appropriate.
  8. Resources used as evidence are appropriate.

Innovation Challenge

This category is open to ALL DIVISIONS

This Years’ Challenge is to design an innovative solution to
a real-world problem by learning from patterns, behaviours, or systems found in nature.

Develop an innovation project that identifies and responds to a current real‑world issue using scientific thinking. For this year’s project you need to design a solution that reduces the environmental impact of food production and consumption.

Your project should:

  • Identify a problem in the food production and consumption chain.
  • Explain how this problem impacts the environment.
  • Use scientific knowledge to design a solution to your chosen problem.

Examples of Challenges by Age Group:

Early Childhood (Kindergarten -Year 2):

  • Investigate the impact of food waste.

Primary (Years 3 – 6):

  • How to protect the role of pollinators in the future of farming

Secondary (Years 7 – 10):

  • Design an agricultural solution to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases during the production of either crops or keeping livestock.

Senior Secondary (Years 11 – 12):

  • Investigating the use of fungi in nutrient recycling.

Entry Guidelines

  • Projects must focus on making the food chain better for the environment.
  • Submission Format: A report in PDF format including:
  • A clear explanation of your problem and solution.
  • Supporting materials such as diagrams, drawings, photos, or videos.

Collaborations:

  • Individual entries or small group entries (up to 3 students).
  • Whole-class entries allowed for Divisions 1 and 2 (Kindergarten–Year 4).
  • Bibliography Required: Include references to your research sources.

Submission Deadline

Friday 23 September 2026

What to do:

1. Identify the Problem

  • Investigate how food production or consumption harms the environment.
  • Choose one specific issue to focus on.

2. Research and Explore

  • Gather scientific information about causes, impacts, and existing solutions.
  • Identify gaps or opportunities for innovation.

3. Define Requirements

  • Set clear criteria your solution must meet.
  • Identify constraints such as cost, time, materials, or user needs.

4. Brainstorm Possible Solutions

  • Generate multiple ideas without judging them.
  • Consider the scientific principles behind each concept.

5. Select the Best Solution

  • Compare ideas against your criteria and constraints.
  • Justify your choice using scientific reasoning.

6. Develop and Build a Prototype

  • Create a model, simulation, or small‑scale version of your solution.
  • Document the design features and scientific principles involved.

7. Test and Evaluate

  • Test your prototype under realistic or controlled conditions.
  • Collect data on performance.

8. Improve and Refine

  • Modify your design based on test results.
  • Re‑test to see whether changes improve performance.

9. Communicate Your Solution

  • Present your final design, explaining the problem, research, solution, and environmental benefits.
  • Include visuals and data to show impact.

Marking Criteria

  1. The team had a clearly defined problem that was well-researched.
  2. The team generated innovative ideas independently before selecting and planning which to
    develop.
  3. The team developed an original or built on an existing idea with a protoype model or drawing
    that represents their solution.
  4. The team shared their ideas, collected feedback, and included improvements in their solution.
  5. The team shared a creative and effective presentation of their current solution and its impacts
    on their users.

Research Investigations

This category is open to ALL DIVISIONS

Entry guidelines

  • This is an open section. Students
    plan, carry out and report on an
    experimental inquiry on a topic in
    which they have a personal interest, or
    is of community relevance.
  • Entries may be submitted by
    individuals or small groups of up to 3
    students. Divisions 1 and 2 may
    submit whole class entries.
  • An acknowledgments section listing all people who helped with the
    investigation and what they did must
    be included in the report.
  • Do not use standard school
    experiments. If based on a school
    experiment, it should offer a novel
    application, have some change, or use
    the method across a wider range of
    conditions.
  • Quantitative data is encourage but
    qualitative data will be accepted if
    analysed appropriately.
  • A risk assessment must be included
    with entries. Entries without a risk
    assessment included will not be
    considered for judging.
  • Formatting: Times New Roman or Arial
    font, 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing, 2.5 cm
    margins.

Submission Deadline:

23 September 2026

What to do:

1. Choose the topic you wish to
investigate.
2. Do some background research to
understand the main concepts
associated with your topic. Seek
expert knowledge from within your
community or the industry associated
with your topic.
3. Identify a problem or a knowledge
gap to address in your investigation.
4. Take some time to plan your
investigation and your experiments.
5. Perform your experiments! Keep a
detailed log book of your methods
and results. Make sure you note down
if anything goes wrong or was
unexpected.
6. Analyse your data and decide how
you want to display it. What kind of
graphs or tables will best show your
results?
7. Write up a report. Check out the
guides on the next few pages for
more information.
8. Submit your report as an A4 PDF. All
entries must be submitted via the
www.stat.org.au website, following the
required submission procedure.

Resources

Writing a Primary Research Investigation Report

Writing a Secondary Research Investigation Report

Predictions v Hypotheses

Controlled Experiments

Variables

The Scientific Method

Marking Criteria

  1. The research question is clear, and testable, and identifies a contribution to the field of study.
  2. The researcher has completed a risk assessment.
  3. The researcher has included an hypothesis.
    that represents their solution
  4. The data was collected and presented appropriate improvements in their solution.
  5. The report includes a clear analysis of the investigation and identifies areas of improvement.
  6. The report included appropriate references and acknowledgements
  7. The report is well written and presented overall.

    Environmental Science Projects

    This category is open to DIVISIONS 4 – 6

    A Environmental Science Project can be used to report on a ‘grass-roots’ initiative in
    agriculture, conservation, land management or related disciplines. Projects can be Case
    Studies of works completed by a school, local community citizen science group or partnership.

    Unlike the Innovation Challenge, which focuses on planning and background research, Enviromental Science Projects must be carried out and include data generation, analysis, and discussion.

    Entry guidelines

    • This is an open section. Students plan,
      carry out and report on an experimental
      inquiry on a topic in which they have a
      personal interest, or is of community
      relevance.
    • Entries may be submitted by individuals
      or small groups of up to 3 students.
    • Entires should be related to the study of the environment or solving an environmental problem in
      the entrant’s school or local community.
    • A bibliography listing all resources used
      must be included.
    • An acknowledgements page identifying
      people who worked on the initiative
      must be included.
    • Formatting: Times New Roman or Arial
      font, 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing, 2.5 cm
      margins.

    Word limit

    • 1500 – 3000 words

    Submission Deadline

    23 September 2026

      What to do:

      1. Choose a problem or challenge you
      wish to address in your project. Make
      sure to clearly outline what this problem
      is in your background.
      2. Do some background research on your
      chosen topic. Seek expert knowledge
      from within your community or the
      industry associated with your topic.
      3. Write up a comprehensive background
      section summarising your research and
      your project aims.
      4. Include a section that addresses the
      methods, interventions, or strategies
      you will use to address your problem.
      5. Present your observations and results.
      Use measurements where possible.
      You can display your results however
      you like, as tables, graphs, photos,
      interview, maps, etc.
      6. Write your discussion section. This
      should describe the outcomes of your
      work, analyse what was and was not
      successful, identify errors or problems
      you encountered, and suggest possible
      improvements or future work that
      needs to be done.
      7.  Submit your report as an A4 PDF.

       

      Marking Criteria

      1. A locally relevant problem was identified and explained.
      2. The report included an introduction that outlining the background information clearly.
      3. The data was collected and analysed appropriately.
      4. The conclusions drawn were appropriate based on the data presented.
      5. Issues and challenges with the project were identified and discussed.

      Engineering Inventions

      This category is open to DIVISIONS 3 – 6

      Entry guidelines

      • This is an open section. Students plan,
        carry out and report on an experimental
        inquiry on a topic in which they have a
        personal interest, or is of community
        relevance.
      • Entries may be submitted by individuals
        or small groups of up to 3 students.
      • Using an Engineering Design Process,
        students identify a problem then create,
        test, and refine a working invention.
      • An invention may be a completely new
        idea or a significant refinement of an
        existing device. A method or process
        can be an invention.
      • An entry must be a working invention
        that solves a real problem. ICT-based
        projects in an Engineering or Science
        context are also eligible.
      • Entries must apply scientific principles
        and show research into similar or rival
        inventions or devices.
      • Entries must be well manufactured.
      • A bibliography listing all resources used
        must be included.
      • An acknowledgements page identifying
        people who worked on the initiative
        must be included.
      • Entries must include a risk assessment
        to be considered.
      • Both a logbook, video, and report must
        be submitted for an entry to be eligible.
      • Formatting: Times New Roman or Arial
        font, 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing, 2.5 cm
        margins.

      Word limit:

      • 800 – 3000 words

      Submission Deadline:

      23 September 2026

        What to do

        1. Choose a problem and research current solutions to this issue.
        2. Design a device or product to solve the
        problem or offer a different approach to
        the problem.
        3. Write up your report (use the Engineering Inventions Report link below as a guide)
        4. Submit your report as an A4 PDF. All
        entries must be submitted via the
        www.stat.org.au website, following the
        required submission procedure.
        Resources and inspiration
        Engineering Design Process

        Resources

        Engineering Design Process

        Engineering Inventions Report

        Marking Criteria

        1. The team had a clearly defined research question that was well-researched.
        2. The invention described is largely a new idea or a refinement of an existing invention is clearly shown.
        3. The design brief clearly explained how the invention was designed, built, and tested.
        4. The discussion clearly explained the scientific principles behind the invention.
        5. The discussion includes an analysis of the invention testing results and identifies areas for improvement.

        The Tasmanian Science Talent Search is an entirely non-profit endevour of the Science Teachers Association of Tasmania. TSTS relies on the generous support of sponsors to provide prize money and support the administrative costs of running this program.

        We would like to give a huge thank you to this years supporters, in particular, Rowe Scientific, without whom we would not be able to provide this opportunity to Tasmania’s science students.