Jerusalem Science Contest

1. Participants must check their email frequently for relevant and timely contest communications from jsc@walderlab.org (make sure this address doesn’t go to spam). Any updates in scheduling or contest procedures will be emailed out, and participants will be immediately responsible to adhere to them. If a participant lacks email access, they can let us know well in advance and we will be happy to make other arrangements.
2.  The registration fee must be paid by no later than Monday, October 27, 2025. Anyone is welcome to try out this contest (including the first set of readings, the first video, and the first test) before this date free of charge. If the payment is not made by this date, the participant will be dropped from the contest. If a participant decides to not continue in the program after this point, the registration cannot be refunded.
3.  Before taking each test, participants will need to read the selected readings from the syllabus, watch two video lectures (Science and Judaic), and then be tested on them. Exam 1 covers both lecture 1s (science and Judaic) and the posted readings for those lectures. The video lectures will be available on our website for participants to access, and can be mailed as a DVD to those who lack internet access (let us know well in advance if a DVD is preferred). Participants will be scored on a total of 7 tests, a comprehensive final exam, and a research project. A local proctor must administer each participant’s tests.
4.  Each test will count for 20 points, the comprehensive exam for 40 points, and the research project for 40 points. Each contestant will therefore earn up to 220 points, and the final point values will decide the standings of the winners.
5.  Participants must purchase/download the selected texts well before the contest begins so that they can complete their readings.
6.  It is vital not to wait until the last minute to complete any contest components (readings, videos, tests, and research). We make the materials available in advance so that participants can pace themselves and not get overwhelmed.
7.  All students who complete the contest with all its requirements receives a certificate and a letter of completion, which can be highlighted on a resume or a college application.

The Judaic video lectures will train JSC participants to analyze astronomy through a lens of Jewish values.  In addition to information-filled Judaic video lectures focused on astronomy, the participant will be mentored in the Judaic research skills employed by the lecturer. The participant will learn a step-by-step procedure useful in methodically searching for, evaluating, interpreting and presenting the Jewish issues present in science topics.  The participants will use the skills learned through the contest’s Judaic section in formulating their final Science-Judaic research project.

1. Each test consists of 20 questions (15 Science and 5 Judaic).
2.  Participants have up to 1 hour to complete each exam.
3.  No notes, books, computers, internet, phones, calculators (except for a basic scientific calculator like the TI-30 that has no input memory for notes), or any other resource will be allowed while taking the test. Only the test itself, a writing utensil, and scrap paper will be allowed.
4.  Participants must return the test and answer sheet to the proctor after each exam.
5.  The participants must take the exam within the week (no later than Friday) of the assigned test date. For example, the first test will be given to proctors on Monday, 9/15/25, and the completed answer sheets must be submitted to us by the proctors no later than Friday, 9/19/25. If there are extenuating circumstances, like a school break, that prevent the test from being taken that week, participants must contact us at jsc@walderlab.org to request an extension at least two weeks in advance (another test will have to be made).
6.  As soon as all copies of an individual test (for example, test #1) have been received and graded, the test versions along with their answers will be released and posted on our website or emailed out to participants to help review for the comprehensive exam.
7.  Students are not permitted to speak about exam questions with anyone (especially other contest participants and any proctors) until the exams have been released.
8.  Test questions can only be contested by email within one week from when the exam was released. In the rare event that there was an error in one of the questions, then the question will be regraded on each participant’s exam, and anyone that had the actual correct answer will be given the points for that question, however, points will not be subtracted from those who “had it correct” the first time. If there is a major flaw in one of the questions such that it must be scrapped, then each participant will receive the points for that question.
9.  The comprehensive final exam will cover material from all the readings and video lectures.
10.  A participant can be disqualified/dropped from the contest or given a score of zero on a test if any of these rules/guidelines (above or below) are not adhered to properly, if there is a lack of honesty/academic integrity, or for any reason we deem appropriate.

For the research project, each participant will choose a topic related to astronomy, and develop a hypothesis, appropriate arguments, and evidence to support and/or reject their hypothesis.  The topic must be submitted and approved by email no later than 11/24/2025. The topic itself must be researched, and put together in the form of an essay, a slideshow, or a video presentation. The research project will be graded by two to four professional evaluators, and the mean value will determine a participant’s final score.

In order to be accepted, each project must be the participant’s original work – their own thoughts and words. Plagiarism and AI generated content is not allowed. Any outside sources can be briefly quoted with proper citation, but the majority of the project must be the participant‘s original work.

JSC Project Guide Video
Research Project Guide PDF
Research Project Rubric

•  Any proctor for the 2025-26 contest must fill out the following proctor information form in advance: 
• Any new proctors will be contacted by our staff for approval.
•  Each proctor must be over eighteen years of age and unrelated to any of the students taking the Jerusalem Science Contest exams that they are proctoring.
•  Proctors may not delegate test administration nor any other proctor responsibility to another person.
•  If a proctor, school official or participant finds it necessary to add additional proctoring staff, they may not hire the additional staff themselves. Rather, the anticipated new proctor must fill out the information form and the Walder Science Center will contact them for approval.
•  Walder Science reserves the right of prior approval for the number of anticipated administrations at the participants’ schools.
•  For each testing week, the proctor will receive the test and a multiple choice answer sheet by email. They will be required to print out a paper copy of each and administer the test to participants with full academic integrity by the end of the week.
•  Proctors must arrange a time that works for students to take each exam, and if there are multiple students at the same school, they should take the exam at the same time to prevent cheating and dishonesty.
•  Unless there are extenuating circumstances, which should be clarified with the Jerusalem Science Contest administration, there should only be one proctor per school.
•  Proctors should collect all the exams and answer keys from the students at the completion of each testing session.
•  Proctors must then scan and email the filled in multiple choice answer sheets promptly to jsc@walderlab.org or fax them to 866-449-7038.
•  Proctors must ensure that participants do not use any notes, books, computers, internet, phones, calculators (except for a basic scientific calculator like the TI-30 that has no input memory for notes), or any other resource besides the test itself, a writing utensil, and scrap paper. (Closed book testing conditions.) Also, participants are not allowed to talk with others while taking the exam, or to communicate information about the test during the exam or to someone who hasn’t taken it yet. Participants cannot share calculators with other participants during the test. The proctor is not allowed to assist participants during the exams or to help participants prepare for the exam once the proctor has seen the exam. Proctors must also space participants (taking an exam simultaneously) adequately to prevent cheating. Adjacent students must be given different test versions.
•  If the proctor sees any such misconduct, or any other lack of honesty by participants during the test, or any other form of cheating, they must inform us immediately and the participant will receive a zero on that exam.
•  Proctors will be paid for their time after the conclusion of the contest, for every test that is proctored and received by us promptly via email.
•  Proctors must affirm the identities of students taking the exams at each testing session.
•  Proctors are not considered agents of the Foundation for Learning Development or the Walder Science Center.

David A. Weintraub is Professor of Astronomy Emeritus and Director of the Communication of Science and Technology Program Emeritus at Vanderbilt University and a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society. His research discoveries include identifying the first known, nearby, young star cluster, the TW Hya Association, and pioneering the use of infrared speckle interferometry, infrared molecular hydrogen imaging, and submillimeter continuum imaging to identify material in the circumstellar disks of young stars. He is the 2015 winner of the Klopsteg Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers, which recognizes the outstanding communication of the excitement of contemporary physics to the general public, and the author of The Sky is for Everyone: Women Astronomers in Their Own Words (2022, Princeton University Press), Life on Mars: What to Know Before We Go (2018, Princeton University Press), and many other books and publications.

Prizes are subject to change

The first-place finisher receives a $1,000 cash prize and a four-year JCT Lev Academic Center Tuition Scholarship. The second-place finisher receives a $700 cash prize. All other finishers receive prize money based on their final score according to the list below.

The top five finishers may win a trip to Israel. The first- and second-place winners may receive BOTH the Israel trip AND their cash prize as discussed above. Other participants who are eligible for, and choose to go on, the Israel trip will not receive any prize money; the trip will be their only prize. Trip winners may opt to pass on the trip and receive instead their cash prize according to the table below. In the event of a tie for first or second place, the prize money for that place will be split evenly, and the next finisher will skip to the next place (for example, if two contestants tie for first place, the next finisher will be considered in third place, NOT second).

To be eligible to win the Israel trip, a participant must be currently enrolled in and in good standing with their school, and no school official or family member should have any concerns about the participant going on the trip. If there are any such concerns, the participant may not go on the trip.

The amount of trip winners is subject to change, and we reserve the right to deny any participant the trip or prize money.