Student contests

Everything you need to run judged student contests in one place.

From registration and project check-in to round scoring and final awards, zFairs keeps every part of your competition organized and moving forward.

What we run

Science fairsHistory DayInventionPoetry Out LoudSpeechPatent contests

Students compete. Judges score. Awards go out. Someone advances.

For regional and state science fairs

Manage project pre-approvals before experimentation begins.

Science fairs aren’t single-day events. zFairs supports the entire pre-competition cycle—collecting digital signatures, routing research plans through SRC and IRB reviews, and keeping every student’s compliance records organized from day one.

Two doors, on purpose

isef.app — kitchen table, no fair account. Guided packet, signatures, download.

zFairs — register to work the forms. Not on the event roster until they submit the project.

Wizards for ISEF or your own forms. Electronic or wet signatures.

Peace of Mind on Event Day

Live support, right when you need it

Full-time staff Monday through Friday, plus weekend event-day coverage. Free live training whenever you need it, and white-glove onboarding when a new director inherits the fair. We’re with you every step of the way, season after season.

21:04zFairs

Your fair · tonight

PushJudging rooms posted — Building C
FilesProgram.pdf · Map
FAQParking · lunch · awards

Companion app on every event. Split judge and participant apps if you want.

For programs with more than one level

From local fair to nationals on a single account.

No duplicate accounts. No re-submitting forms. zFairs carries advancing projects forward with a single click—which is why programs like National History Day and Invention Convention trust us from school fairs to national finals.

The ladder

Local
Affiliate
Nationals

Linked sites, not one mega-site. Promote. Same login. Finish the next form.

For every type of judged contest

Powering academic, creative, and technical competitions nationwide.

No matter how unique your competition format, zFairs configures to your exact rules, submission types, and judging rubrics. Complete event flexibility—all on zFairs.

One event, every role

StudentsTeachersMentorsJudgesStaffAttendeesVendorsSponsorsPress
~2Mpeople registered
~722events a year
50 States +Across the country & International
2012Over a decade of trusted events

zFairs is software from Illuminating Software. Recommended by Society for Science. Exclusive software provider for National History Day.

What directors say

“Registration, payment, project scheduling, judging, and evaluations are all located in one place… I cannot recommend zFairs highly enough.”

Alaina McNaughton, Associate Director, National History Day

“What zFairs has been able to do in four weeks is truly amazing. Timely replies, and they make the changes that are practical.”

Timara Underbakke, Director, Twin Cities Regional Science Fairs

“Their passion for science fairs is reflected in their attention to detail… we would recommend zFairs platform, service, and support.”

Pratham Patkar, IT Director, Society for Science

“We have been with Zfairs to manage our event registrations for all participants (including students, teachers, judges and volunteers) for several years. It has grown to be a robust, feature-full platform. And the customer support is really great.”

Anne Cawley, Event Coordinator, California North/Central Invention Convention

"I was so appreciative of the support that [zFairs] offered to us especially on the day of the fair... it was really helpful to just know that we had someone who was going to be responsive all day. That really gave me a lot of peace of mind. Just having the ability to have everything all in one platform, that is [something] that I certainly recommend to other fair directors."

Sophia Potter, Project Manager, UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

“Utilizing zFairs has been transformation for the FRSEF! Having an all in one platform that is easy to configure, register and pull data for reports enables our entire organization to simply operate events. By using zFairs our judging process has been streamlined and provided our team with restful nights before the fair. Having instant results has saved us hours and hours of compiling results. Our organization is volunteer based and using zFairs has provided stability - having a GUI that is easy to use enables all of our team members to contribute and easily on-board new team members.”

Jordan Krell, Director, Flint Regional Science and Engineering Fair

“I have always really felt very lucky to have come in the zFairs era. It's been interesting to see how it's grown and changed over time. I do appreciate the responsiveness and willingness to say, "This doesn't really fit for this, so we're gonna switch it up." I appreciate [zFairs] flexibility with coordinators.”

Anna Keneda, Director, Louisiana State National History Day

“zFairs has been an incredible partner for the People of Play Young Inventor Challenge over the years! Their support team never fails to deliver. They're responsive, patient, and deliver top notch care. It's clear zFairs genuinely cares about helping us have a successful competition. We're constantly looking to improve our processes, and zFairs is right there with us, evolving and innovating to meet our needs. The zFairs team makes the experience of our annual competition with the Young Inventor Challenge exceptional!”

Ahren Hoffman, Director, Young Inventor Challenge

“[zFairs'] report capabilities are outstanding. The fact that you can just go in and give me a report on my schools, my districts, my demographics or whatever, that's a cool tool...We use quantity where it's applicable. So, being able to talk about that growth and point it out directly has been an awesome thing. And I'm sure other people feel the same way. Those reports are very helpful.”

Dr. Idrissa Snyder, Director, Alabama State National History Day

Configured to fit the way you run your events.

Whether you need role-specific onboarding paths, school capacity limits, or bulk teacher sign-ups, zFairs adapts to your process. Create flexible, private registration flows and turn them into templates you can reuse season after season.

Flexible judging and peer review.

From in-person fairs to virtual showcases, zFairs streamlines assignments, multi-stage rounds, judging captains, and final awards. Engage participants further with built-in peer review, enabling students to evaluate and learn from one another alongside traditional judges.

Elevate event day with a branded mobile app.

Unlike browsing a mobile website, your custom event app provides instant push alerts, building maps, and role-specific home screens that ensure everyone finds their room, their schedule, and their scores without confusion.

Monday through Friday, a person

Free on-demand live training,

white-glove onboarding when coordinators transition, and enterprise-grade security that keeps student data encrypted and safe.

Ready to run a smoother competition this season?

Start building your event in minutes, or connect with our team to find the right setup for your program.