April 23, 2016
1802
Nathan Williams of Ecole Elgin Market Public School in Kincardine, has been chosen to take his science fair project to the Canada-wide Science Festival in Montreal, May 14-21.
The Grade 8 student won gold at the Bluewater District School Board regional science and technology fair for students in Grades 7-12, held in Owen Sound, March 30.
Nathan's project was called Gyro-Bot. He took a school-team-made Lego robot, inserted a gyroscope, and wrote a computer program that used the gyroscope to write 90-degree angles with a pen.
This project has space-based applications that would assist astronauts with their work at the International Space Station and in the petroleum industry, where such a device could examine pipelines and affect repairs before leaks occurred.
The other gold-medal recipients at the senior fair were:
Katherine Teeter, Grade 12, Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton – Synthetic Limpets’ Teeth for Improved Joint Performance
Katherine created a substance to mix in with three-dimensional printing binding agents to create stronger replacement prosthetics in people who have injuries, such as shattered bones that would normally result in amputation of human limbs. Limpet teeth are the hardest known organic substance created by any organism on earth. Katherine is currently conducting epithelial cell toxicity tests of her product before she prints 3D human bones.
This will be Katherine’s sixth and final appearance at the national event. She has earned three bronze and two silver medals, and hopes to complete her medal pyramid with a gold this year. Only three other students in the history of the Bluewater regional science and technology fair have been to six national events.
Sophia Cottrill, Grade 7, Sullivan Community School in Desboro – Evolution or Extinction? Time Will Tell for the King of the Arctic.
Sophia examined the possibilities of polar bears evolving and adapting to a terrestrial life when there is no longer any ice left in the Arctic. This study looked at several evolutionary markers, including the ability to digest and safely use the calories in seal blubber as opposed to the omnivore relatives that live entirely on land, such as black bears and grizzly bears. Sophia’s conclusion is catastrophic for polar bears!
John Twelves (in behind, at the podium) of the Bluewater regional science and technology fair committee, presents gold medals to students from the Bluewater District School Board: Katherine Teeter (second from left), Nathan Williams, fourth from left, and Sophia Cottrill (fourth from right), along with Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson (second from right), and Blair Hilts (R) of the Bluewater District School Board; photos courtesy of the Bluewater District School Board
Junior Science Fair
Junior students in Grades 4-6 competed April 13. Out of the 17 gold-medal-winning projects, Bluewater students claimed seven:
The gold-medal-runner-up, for the second-place grand award - the Canadian Nuclear Society Award, Bruce Branch, was Geneva Hindle of Meaford Community School with her project, Water Desalination.
Bluewater students dominated the Special Awards, winning 14 of 18 that were presented:
Another significant achievement from this year's senior science fair, was the announcement that Anne Range, science teacher at Amabel-Sauble Community School, had won a Youth Science Canada Distinguished Service Award. This prestigious national science award recognizes long-term dedication to science and science fair promotion at the school, regional and national levels.
Range has contributed more than 20 years of service to these programs as a teacher. She has been to three Canada-wide Science Festivals in Regina, London and Chicoutimi, and is known in Bluewater District School Board as the 'science fair guru.'
Four other members of the Bluewater regional science and technology fair committee have received this award: John Lennon, Clive Card, Ross Haley and John Twelves. Range is the fifth recipient which puts this local event in the top four of 103 regional fairs across Canada for members receiving this coveted award.
Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson (second from right), presents the Youth Science Canada Distinguished Service Award, to Anne Range, with John Twelves (L) of the Bluewater regional science and technology fair committee, Blair Hilts of the Bluewater District School Board, and Clive Card of the Bluewater regional science and technology fair committee
Written ByLiz Dadson is the founder and editor of the Kincardine Record and has been in the news business since 1986.
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