Intensive Winter Training
Dates
Thu, Jan 21 – Fri, Jan 22 + Mon, Jan 25 – Fri, Jan 29, 2027
7 days in total, with the weekend off
Hours
09:00 – 16:00 daily (includes a one-hour lunch break)
Where
STARK Lab, Anping, Tainan
§ PROGRAMS · SCIENCE INQUIRY COMPETITION TRAINING
Grade 4 – Grade 12
Turn a child’s curiosity
into real research
A national science competition that values creative expression: from one question and one set of experiments to a project that explains itself clearly.
- Intensive winter training
- Anping, Tainan
- Teams of 2–3 · cross-school teams welcome
- First round judged on video
- Professional Vernier sensors
2 competitions · 9 national awards · winners at all 3 school levels
§ 01
Coaching RecordTrack Record
2 competitions,
9 awards
From elementary to high school, children at every level have taken the stage. Award names follow the official competition announcements.
2competitions entered
9awards
3school levels with winners
2026
National Bronze
Junior high
2026
National Silver
High school
2025
National runner-up
Elementary
2026
Distinction × 2
Elementary
2026
AVC Sustainability Award
Elementary
2026
Digital Measurement Award
Elementary
2025
Honourable mention × 2
High school
What an award-winning project looks like
“Popcorn Makeover: Goodbye, Styrofoam!”
Could popcorn replace Styrofoam? The children ground and sieved popcorn, pressed it into moulds with a natural binder, then tested its insulation, cushioning and fire resistance, turning an environmental question into a complete research project. The report was hand-drawn throughout and the video acted by the children themselves: this is the kind of science children who can express themselves create.
Pages from the hand-drawn research report
§ 02
About the CompetitionThe Competition
A stage where children
can show their creativity
The National Science Inquiry Competition, a nationwide science inquiry event held every year (about the competition ›)
What kind of competition is it?
- A national science inquiry competition held every year
- Teams of 2 to 3, any field of science
- The first round is a project video; finalists present live
- Just the right scale: a full research cycle children can carry themselves
What do children do themselves?
- Start from their own curiosity and turn it into a question they can test by hand
- Design experiments, take measurements, and get through the days when the data will not cooperate
- Write up findings as a report and a video that others can understand
- If they advance, take the stage at the final and hold their ground under questioning
Is it right for my child?
- An interest in experiments and a willingness to get hands-on are enough
- Talkative, full of ideas, loves drawing or acting? The first round is a video, so expressiveness is an advantage
- No teammates yet? Cross-school teams are welcome, and teachers help match children
What stays with them afterwards?
- Their first complete research project, and the confidence of “I did a real study”
- The skills a science fair needs, practised once already, so they never start from zero
- From gifted-program assessments and special-talent admissions to university portfolio review, research experience carries more weight every year
§ 03
Who It’s ForWho It's For
Which children it suits
No research experience needed, just the urge to figure something out
-
Grade 4 through Grade 12
Elementary, junior high and high school compete separately, and the course adjusts its depth for each level.
-
A clear interest in scientific inquiry and creative expression
Not minding experiments and being willing to share ideas out loud are what matter most.
-
Planning to enter a science fair later
A moderate research scale and shorter preparation make it a complete warm-up before a science fair.
Eligibility
Competition training runs on project accountability (every team must deliver a complete project by the deadline), so places are reserved for children we already know: current STARK Lab regular-class students, or those who have completed Research Talent Training or VSTC Digital Measurement Certification. Any one of these qualifies. Children who do not yet qualify are welcome to start with either of those two courses, which are also the best preparation for this competition.
Teams
Generally 2 to 3 children per team, and cross-school teams are welcome. If your child already has a friend to team up with, we respect that; if not, there is nothing to worry about. Teachers help form teams among the children who enrol, based on each child’s strengths.
Research topics
Any field is possible: physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering design. Topics start from the child’s own curiosity, and the teacher’s role is to ask questions: helping children narrow a topic that is too big, sharpen one that is too vague, and confirm it fits the competition rules.
§ 04
CurriculumCurriculum
One research project, four things to practise
From a single question to a project that explains itself clearly
- 1
PHASE 01
Questions and Research Design
Turning curiosity into a question you can test by hand · Turning “better” into a number you can measure · Changing one condition at a time, keeping everything else the same
- 2
PHASE 02
Experiments and Data Analysis
Measuring, recording and repeating by hand · Making sense of data that does not match expectations · Using charts so conclusions hold up
- 3
PHASE 03
Writing the Report
The structure and logic of a research report · Writing the process so others can follow it · Checking and revising against competition rules
- 4
PHASE 04
The Project Video
The first round is judged on video · Storyboard planning · Filming and visual design · Editing and narrative pacing
§ 05
InstrumentsInstruments
Letting the data
really speak
Children have full use of the professional Vernier scientific sensors the lab has purchased
Inquiry often succeeds or fails not on the idea, but on “whether you can measure precisely enough”. The lab is equipped with Vernier sensors for force and acceleration, spectrometry, three-axis magnetic fields, temperature, energy, wide-range motion, gas pressure, pH, carbon dioxide, oxygen, colorimetry and more, all fully available to children in the training.
Vernier is an international science-education measurement brand with forty years of history, and its resolution and sampling rates are good enough for real research, so children’s data is not distorted by the equipment. Learning to let instruments speak for them is one of the abilities this course aims to leave with children.
§ 06
From FamiliesFrom Parents
Beyond the award, what stays with the child
§ 07
Timeline & FeesEnrollment
A year-long journey that starts in winter
The seven days of training are only the start. Based on the past two competitions, the season roughly runs like this
- 1
Mid-December | Teams and topics
Registration opens in the autumn; teams and topic directions are settled by mid-December, so children arrive at training with a clear question.
- 2
Late January | Seven days of intensive training
The core of the experiment design, measurement and data analysis is completed in these seven days.
- 3
Early April | Report and video finished, submitted online
February and March are for wrapping up and filming at each team’s own pace, with submission by early April.
- 4
Mid-May | First-round results and extra practice
Teams that advance get added practice in oral presentation and Q&A, at no extra charge.
- 5
Mid-June | Live final and award ceremony
Children take their own research to the stage and present the year’s work to the judges.
The fee covers a whole season
The fee is paid once, with nothing added from topic selection in December to the final in June, not just for the seven days in winter.
- Seven full days of training, 09:00–16:00 daily, 42 classroom hours in total
- Lunch and all lab materials
- Professional Vernier sensors issued to each team
- Guidance throughout on the research report and project video
- Support with wrapping up and filming in February and March
- Oral presentation and Q&A training after advancing, at no extra charge
Training Fees
Elementary
NT$22,000 per child
Junior high
NT$25,000 per child
High school
NT$30,000 per child
Equipment deposit
NT$10,000, charged separately
- Refunded in full after training if the equipment has no damage caused by misuse
Places are limited and enrollment closes when full. These are the official 2027 fees and will not increase after enrollment.
§ 08
FAQFAQ
What parents most want to know
If your question is not answered here, you can ask STARK Lab directly on LINE
- QIs this a course, or do children actually compete?
- The course is built around actually competing. Forming teams, choosing a topic, experiments, the report and the project video are all part of the schedule, and children complete a full cycle.
- QDo we need to find teammates before signing up?
- No. Teachers help form teams among the children who enrol, generally 2 to 3 per team, and children from different schools can be on the same team. If your child wants to team up with a friend, we respect that too.
- QCan my child join with no research experience at all?
- Yes. The course starts from zero. If your child enjoys experiments and is willing to get hands-on, they already have what matters most.
- QCan my child research a topic of their own choosing?
- Of course, and we encourage it. Teachers help check the topic’s feasibility and the competition rules, and discuss and refine it together with the child.
- QCan elementary and junior high students be on the same team?
- No. Under the competition rules, team members must be at the same school level. Teachers arrange teams accordingly.
- QCan homeschooled children or children in experimental education join?
- Yes.
- QWhy is there an equipment deposit?
- Each team is issued Vernier sensors, which are precise and expensive instruments. The deposit encourages children to handle them with care, and it is refunded in full at the end if there is no damage caused by misuse.
- QI’m not sure my child is a good fit, but I worry places will fill up.
- If your child does not mind doing experiments, it is worth a try. Preparing for this competition is not overly demanding; the focus is on creativity and the experience, the pressure is moderate, and it works well as a first science competition.
A first research project
that is truly their own
Class times, fees, whether your child is a good fit:
any question is welcome on LINE.
@starklab
STARK Lab · 417 Guoping Rd., Anping District, Tainan
