Think of how far science has come in the last 50 years — personal computers, cellphones, artificial intelligence and DNA testing are among the life changing inventions that have come along since the Westlock Local Science Fair started in 1969.
Approximately 115 students from Westlock Elementary, St. Mary School, R.F. Staples, Eleanor Hall School, Pembina North Community School, Busby, Dunstable, Swan Hills, along with a few home-schooled students presented 73 projects for judges and the public at the event held at the Westlock Community Hall March 7.
“It’s wonderful, we’ve had lots of support from all of our different schools and while teachers have changed over the years and those involved in the science fair have changed over the years, clearly the interest in science has stayed,” said Tammy Tkachuk, the president of the Local Science Fair committee and Dunstable School principal.
“It gives our kids an opportunity to delve into science in a little more detail and depth than they would in their regular classes.
“For those kids that have a real passion for science it gives them an outlet for that and some encouragement.”
This year’s project topics ranged from dinosaurs and lava lamps to the effects of smoking on the lungs and how a hockey stick flexes. First, second and third place winners in each category (see next week’s News for the results) are eligible to take part in the Edmonton Regional Science Fair being held at NAIT on April 7-8.
Tkachuk emphasized the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) for today’s generation of students heading into the future.
“Seeing that come to life for our students is what it’s all about,” she said, adding there is also a large presentation element to the science fair that judges take into account.
“That’s part of it, they get to delve into the science, but they also have to work on their presentation skills and they have to make sure they know about their projects because when those judges come around, they’re the ones who have to answer all the questions,” said Tkachuk.
Memphis Durand and Elisa Boelman teamed up in the Grade 1-3 physical category to see what fruits would make the best battery. In their project called “Fruit Battery,” they tested a variety of fruits and used a special instrument to measure the amount of voltage produced.
The PNCS students were right on the money with their hypothesis that the lemon would produce the most power, followed by an orange and grapefruit, then a kiwi, apple and finally a tomato. It seems the citrus fruits hold the most energy, said Durand.
Jaylene Strydhorst tried her best to find out what the best toy for her cat would be. In her Grade 1-3 biology project called “The Cat’s Meow: Designing an Enrichment Toy,” she observed three specific behaviors in her cat when it was exposed to toys made of different materials.
The Busby School student was quick to point out she had her family help her out with the project.
“My mom helped me with the pawing and my sister helped me with the pouncing and I did the biting. We counted how many times the cat bit, pounced and pawed for three minutes on each enrichment toy three times at the same time every day, at 7 p.m.”
Not surprisingly, the toy with catnip inside of it got the most reactions from the feline, as she thought it might.
In the Grade 4 environmental category, Westlock Elementary School student Isaac Kostiw explored different soil types with his project “The Perfect Dirt.”
“I wanted to find out what the best soil is for growing plants, so I tested different mixtures,” he said, noting he found the best dirt was a mixture of peat moss, sand, silt and clay, as was his hypothesis.
St. Mary School student Cole Prevost-McLellan was in the Grade 6 physical category and did his project called “Stop Static” on static electricity. He tested different materials by rubbing them against a balloon to see which would produce more static, or which would attract more paper hole punch-outs. He found wood produced the least static electricity, but was surprised to learn that rug, metal and foam produced the most.
“I didn’t expect the rug or the foam,” he said, adding this was the third year in a row he’s been to the science fair.
Aden Keough, from Swan Hills School, competed in the Grade 7-8 Life Science category with his project “The Science of Blood Typing.”
He wanted to find out how to learn what your blood type is. He did an experiment where he added anti-serum to synthetic blood and noted which antibodies appeared.
“If it’s cloudy or it has particles in it, that means the reaction has happened, so (antibodies) are present, but if it’s clear, there has been no reaction, so it’s not present,” he said.
“Knowing your blood type can affect your life because if you need a blood transfusion you have to make sure you have the right kind or you can get very sick or possibly pass away. It’s the same for giving blood, you should know your blood type if you want to give blood. It’s good to know your blood type because it can affect your life or someone else’s.”
Jayce Tomlinson, of PNCS, was in the Grade 7-8 physical science category with his project “The Crossed Atom.”
“So what I did is I tried to make an atom that consists of both a proton and an anti-proton,” he said, adding it’s almost impossible as the two have to be separated because they are attracted to each other.
Tomlinson’s was among the more complex projects at the fair. He built a hydrogen generator, a plasmatron and a particle accelerator out of everyday household items like glass jars and plastic tubing.
“The hydrogen generator just generates hydrogen so I can shoot it through the dual plasmatron, which tears the atom apart, separating the protons and the electrons, depending on which one you want,” he said.
He then shoots the atom into the particle accelerator. Particles collide within creating different kinds of subatomic particles including protons and anti-protons which Tomlinson wanted to bring together around one atom. He was ultimately unsuccessful, as he thought he would be.
Tkachuk said she hopes the science fair carries on for many years to come and thanked the sponsors for their generous support throughout the years.
“I think the fact that it has been 49 years shows that it’s serving an interest of the kids and it’s nice to have that support from our local schools too … and all of our sponsors, we have lots of sponsors who help us out as well,” said Tkachuk.
