*All students and accompanying adults must register in advance in order to attend madiSTEM. The information below describes the registration process for individuals and small groups (2-6 students).

Registration for Students in Grades 6-8 (Individuals and Small Groups): Two Required Steps

Step 1: Pre-register. (February 6th - February 14th)

All individual students and small groups who want to attend madiSTEM must pre-register via the link at the bottom of this section.  The pre-registration form will be open from 9 am on Thursday, February 6, 2025 until 9 pm on Friday, February 14, 2025.  Students can pre-register either as an individual or within a group, but each student can only pre-register once. The pre-registration phase will help us to understand demand so that we can build the appropriate number of workshop tracks to accommodate the students.  Pre-registration does NOT guarantee you a spot in the conference.  We anticipate being able to accept all pre-registered students into the conference, but we will utilize a waiting list if we reach capacity.  Students who are accepted must then complete additional steps to finish their conference registration and secure their spot.  Please remember to check your calendar before pre-registering to ensure that the student will be able to attend madiSTEM if accepted.

After the pre-registration period ends, tracks will be created and added to the website. Emails will be sent out by noon on Monday, February 24th from registration@madistem.org. These emails will outline instructions for finishing student online registration to secure their spot at madiSTEM and enter their preferences for workshop tracks.  Failure to finish online registration by submitting the Online Registration Form within the prescribed time will forfeit a student’s spot at madiSTEM, and their spot will be offered to a student on the waiting list.  See the registration timeline below for important dates in this process. 

The Two Types of Pre-registrations
(Open to all students, grades 6-8, but each student may be pre-registered in only 1 of these 2 ways.)

• Individual Entry : Students who pre-register as individuals will be accepted or waitlisted on an individual basis.
• Group Entry: Students who want to attend with their siblings, classmates, friends, etc., can pre-register as a group of 2 to 6 students. The entire group will be accepted or waitlisted as a single unit.  A single adult contact acts as the group organizer and pre-registers the entire group at the same time, serves as the email contact for the entire group, and is responsible for making sure each student in the group finishes their online registration on time if the group is accepted. To pre-register a group, the group organizer will need to know the first and last name, grade, school name, and home or school zip code of each student in the group. Note that group entries are limited to groups of size 2-6.
  • Group pre-registration can occur either for convenience of the person completing the pre-registration (i.e. teachers wanting to register multiple students at once or parents wanting to register siblings) or based on the desire for the participants to stay together (i.e. a friend group). If you want the participants to stay together, you MUST indicate this on the form.
  • If the group is larger than 3 students, the group will likely be split in two smaller groups. This will allow all students who sign up for madiSTEM to have the broadest choices possible.
  • Note that you must also follow the instructions outlined in the special note for groups in Step 2.

   

Link to Pre-registration Entry Form (Pre-registration now closed.)

Step 2: Finish the student's online registration by submitting the Online Registration Form by the deadline in the student's acceptance email. (Starts February 24th)

Accepted individuals and groups will be emailed instructions for completing the online registration form.  This step is required to secure your spot.   Failure to complete the online registration form by the deadline listed in the emailed instructions will forfeit the student’s spot at madiSTEM, and their spot will be offered to a student on the waiting list. Completing the online registration form is an individual process for each student, whether they have signed up as an individual or as part of a group. The form will ask for additional contact information, lunch preferences, t-shirt sizes, and the student’s top choices of workshop tracks. The individual workshop tracks fill on a first-come, first-served basis, so it’s possible that some of the choices will not be available when you complete your registration.  Please have backup choices planned and try to complete your registration as soon as possible for the widest selection of workshop choices.

The online registration process will also include completion of student release forms, which must be completed by a parent/guardian. This part of the registration must be completed in order to finish the registration process. (Note that in previous years, forms were allowed to be turned in on the day of the conference, but now these must be completed during the online registration process.)

A special note for groups

All of the above information also applies to students in groups, but there are a few additional instructions. Group organizers  will be responsible for distributing registration information to the rest of the group so that parents/guardians can complete registration for their own students. If your group organizer indicated a preference for students in the group to stay together, three things must happen:

1. This preference must have been indicated during pre-registration.
2. Each student in the group must choose the same track preferences in the same order. If this is not done, track choice will be honored over group preference.
3. Since the tracks fill on a first-come, first-served basis, each student must register at relatively the same time so that they still see the same track choices as the other members of the group. Otherwise, either the entire group will be limited to the choices that were available for the last member, or the group will be split up.

2025 madiSTEM Registration Timeline (Individuals and Small Groups)

Registration for Adults Accompanying a Student to madiSTEM

A parent or teacher may attend madiSTEM with a registered student. Adults attending the conference have the option of staying with one specific student all day  and/or participating in the adult workshops. Other parents/teachers who do not want to stay with one student throughout the day or attend the adult workshops are strongly encouraged to explore alternate locations at JMU or in Harrisonburg instead of staying in the building. Adults unfamiliar with the area can stop by the info desk on the day of the conference if suggestions for places to go are needed.

Any adults who plan to stay at madiSTEM with their student(s) need to register for the conference after their student has finished both phases of online registration (not during the pre-registration phase). The emailed instructions for accepted students will include information for how to register as an adult accompanying accepted students.

How to Cancel Your Registration or Pre-registration If You Can No Longer Attend

If you discover after pre-registering/registering that you can no longer attend madiSTEM, it is extremely important that you cancel your registration/pre-registration by emailing  madistem@jmu.edu as soon as possible. No-shows waste our limited financial resources and take spaces in workshops that could be filled with other interested participants.  By canceling your registration if you cannot attend, you are helping us to accommodate more students and keep madiSTEM free for all participants.