It was optional, and probably only about 10 percent of kids participated. We filled out a form saying we were doing the project and the title so I was panicking thinking we'd have to back out since the results didn't make any sense. It's too bad not everyone did a project, but at least it wasn't required which wouldn't be fair to kids who don't have help. But even if a kid just slapped something together like maple syrup and corn syrup, it would have been fine since it wasn't graded or judged.