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Young scientists in the spotlight

It was a night of experiments, explosions and entertainment at the 50th annual Westlock & District Science Fair March 6 at the Westlock and District Community Hall.
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Westlock Elementary School student Raymond Baril shows off his robot that he built for the 50th annual Westlock & District Science Fair held March 6 at the Westlock & District Community Hall.

It was a night of experiments, explosions and entertainment at the 50th annual Westlock & District Science Fair March 6 at the Westlock and District Community Hall.

Students from eight schools, as well as one home-schooled student, showcased 71 experiments, ranging from a miniature hydraulic crane, detailed examinations of various parts of human anatomy, electromagnets and a fully operational robot arm.

“I mostly built it myself,” said eight-year-old inventor Raymond Baril of Westlock Elementary School. “Though my dad helped a bit too.”

Students then gathered in the centre of the hall for a two-hour science demonstration of fire and ice put on by Science in Motion outreach coordinator Neil Ingram.

Ingram first introduced the students to the properties of liquid nitrogen, quick-freezing all sorts of household objects ranging from fruits and vegetables to water balloons and balloon animals.

He then turned the students attention to the properties of fire, first creating a fire tornado by placing a small flame onto a moving turntable before showing the students the dangers of sparks near grain elevators by creating a miniature blowout in a chimney.

Finally, he showed the students the explosive differences between oxygen, helium and hydrogen by filling balloons up with each gas and having students ignite the balloons.

Humble beginnings

Organizer Tammy Tkachuk, who’s principal of Dunstable School, said the demonstration was the finishing touch on a tradition that has spanned generations.

“Back in the day when Westlock was its own school division they began holding the fair,” she said. “Last night there were some parents who were talking about when they came to the science fair as students and now their kids are coming as students.

“Kids come and try it for the first time then get a chance to see other people’s projects, then they think, ‘Oh, I want to do that next year.’”

Tkachuk, who has been involved in the fair for the last 11 years, took over six years ago from Sue Chapotelle who ran it for the previous 44. She said the fair has gone through a few minor changes over the years as originally participation was a mandatory part of the Grade 4-6 curriculum, but is now voluntary.

A consequence of the shift, she said, was that students are far more enthusiastic about their experiments than they used to be.

“We don’t tend to get quite as many kids as we used to in the past, but they’re more keen because it’s their own initiative,” said Tkachuk. “It’s always interesting from year to year to see what is of interest to the kids. In the last couple of year experiments with slime have been big, so you do see trends with the experiments.

“Regardless, the calibre of the experiments is high. The kids are interested in their topics and want to produce something with quality for the judges.”

While close to 70 students were awarded first to third place and are eligible to move on to the Edmonton Regional Science Fair April 6-7, Tkachuk said usually only around 10 to 15 make the trip.

However, students who take up the challenge have proven Westlock is as scientifically astute as anywhere in Canada, with one student, Kyle Schole, winning the Manning Innovation Award at the national science fair in 2011.

See results  from the fair in next week’s Westlock News.

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