Using Your Own Cat

[deleted-184037]

My fifth-grader is using our cat as a "customer" for her Engineering Design project to build a better cat toy. Does she need to fill out the vertebrate forms for ISEF fairs? Is she supposed to find some kind of SRC to approve her plans and if so, how do you do that?

[deleted-352009]

Hi,

Yes, your daughter will need to fill out the vertebrate animal form. However, since this appears to only be a non-invasive study on animal behavior, you might not need SRC approval. The ISEF rules state that you don't need prior SRC approval as long as there is no interaction with the animals being observed, and their environment is not being manipulated in any way. Depending on the methodology for this project, you may or may not need approval. I've included a link to the ISEF rules below, and I recommend you read through the vertebrate animal rules (pages 12-14) before starting the project.

https://member.societyforscience.org/do ... doc?id=747

If you do need SRC approval, this usually comes through a science teacher from your student's school. I would consult with you daughter's science teacher about which forms she needs, and if she needs SRC approval.

Hope this helped,
Allison