Students flex their brainpower at P.E.I. Science Fair

From summer fashion science and mousetrap-powered cars, to computers that use water to make calculations, P.E.I. school students showed off their scientific prowess this week. 

The P.E.I. Science Fair, held Tuesday at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, featured more than 180 students from grades 4 to 10, showcasing 129 science projects. 

On the line was more than $15,000 in prizes, and a trip to the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa later this year. 

Projects this year included students’ innovations in renewable energy, biodegradable materials, climate adaptation, agriculture, robotics, and health and well-being. 

One of this year’s participants was Theo Hansen, a Grade 8 student at Morell Consolidated School.

He turned his passion for computing into his science project, Follow the Flow: Computing with Water, telling CBC News his invention was a visual representation of how computers make calculations — using water and 3D-printed components.

“I was able to use water to add numbers,” he explained. “I had syringes which I would fill up with a specific amount of water, and I would squirt them down.

“The way that they flowed through the system and the 3D-printed parts, it would output as a number.”

P.E.I.’s school science fair program is offered at both the local school and provincial levels.

It is a community education partnership, involving hundreds of volunteers and 40 organizations. 

This year’s provincial fair in Charlottetown saw student participants demonstrate their research to roughly 80 volunteer judges, fellow students, and the general public.

‘Nation’s brightest young minds’

Four students from grades 7-12 were selected to attend the national fair in May, which offers a platform to boost young people’s interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM.)

That national event will see more than $1 million in prizes and scholarships awarded to winners who the event’s website describes as “our nation’s brightest young minds, celebrating their passion for STEM and innovation.”

This year’s four delegates to the national fair are:

• Charlotte Campbell and Leila Djelouah (Grade 8, East Wiltshire Intermediate School): The Root of the Problem
• Kayley Carter (Grade 9, Belfast Consolidated School): How many apples is safe to give a horse? 
• Hargun Cheema (Grade 10, Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside): Soft Landing on Mars

L.M. Montgomery Elementary School student Jack Shaw, of Charlottetown, won a top prize in Grade 6 for his project, How Far Will a Mousetrap Car Go? 

He fastened Lego wheels to wood mousetraps, and then measured how far the mousetraps would propel the cars, experimenting with different lever lengths to see which offered the most propulsion. 

The results of the experiment proved to be another valuable educational lesson for Shaw: admitting when you’re wrong. 

“My hypothesis was wrong,” he said. “I thought the 12-inch lever arm, which is the longest, would go the farthest, but the six-inch went the farthest.

“I would say that’s because of the weight on the front; It would weigh down the front and give it some slippage on the back.”

Grade 7 Summerside Intermediate School student Sylvie Noall had a practical question that P.E.I. residents could benefit from as hotter weather approaches: what colour of clothing is the best to wear when it’s hot outside? 

“I’ve always been a bit of a fashionista,” she told CBC News. “Being comfortable and being cooler in the summers, it’s going to be good.”

Her experiment involved using a night light and placing different coloured shirts under the light’s heat.

“The colours grey and white are the best colours to wear under the sun when it’s warm out,” she concluded. “However, black and navy blue are not the best.” 

Winners and prizes 

Here are some of this year’s P.E.I. Science Fair winners, not including specialty prize winners, who will be announced online next week.

Lieutenant Governor’s Award

• Leila Djelouah and Charlotte Campbell (Grade 8, East Wiltshire Intermediate School): The Root of the Problem 

Junior — Honourable mention

• Porter Ludgate (Grade 8, Morell Consolidated School): Knuckleball 
• Brianna Bridges and Marley Mintie (Grade 7, Summerside Intermediate School): Restez brillent avec la vitamin C 
• Kinley Sharkey (Grade 7, Summerside Intermediate School): Cookie Chemistry 
• Greta Edgett-Gallant (Grade 8, Stonepark Intermediate School): From Pockets to Petri Dish: Bacterial Growth on Smart Phones 
• Samuel Puiia-MacDonald (Grade 8, East Wiltshire Intermediate School): Is Heavy Metal Healthy 
• Keegan Casey (Grade 7, East Wiltshire Intermediate School): To exercise or not. Controlling blood glucose spikes from high glycemic index foods 
• Isaac Morse (Grade 8, East Wiltshire Intermediate School): All About Electricity 

Junior — Best in Fair

• 1st — Charlotte Campbell and Leila Djelouah (Grade 8, East Wiltshire Intermediate School): The Root of the Problem 
• 2nd — Ruby Keller and Rachel Wight (Grade 8, East Wiltshire Intermediate School): Sugar Worms 
• 3rd — Payton Crozier and Ryan Sentner (Grade 8, East Wiltshire Intermediate School): Frosty Friction: Discovering The Best Sliding Materials For Goalie Pads 

Intermediate — Honourable mention

• Morghan Gallant and Alexis Gallant (Grade 9, Summerside Intermediate School): Music’s Effects on the Heart 
• Dhairya Purbia (Grade 10, Colonel Gray Senior High School): Waste Wonders 
• Molly Visser (Grade 9, Vernon River Consolidated School): What is the difference between cupcakes with and without baking powder? 

Intermediate — Best in Fair

• 1st — Kayley Carter (Grade 9, Belfast Consolidated School): How many apples is safe to give a horse?
• 2nd — Hargun Cheema (Grade 10, Three Oaks Senior High School): Soft Landing On Mars 
• 3rd — Chris Hahn (Grade 9, M.E. Callaghan Intermediate School): The Plant Sitter: The New Meaning of Automated Watering 

Elementary Grade 4 — Top projects

• Neil Orchard (Grade 4, West Royalty Elementary School): Hydrogen. Can You Make Rocket Fuel on the Moon? 
• Cary Read and Carter Perry (Grade 4, West Royalty Elementary School): Think Fast! 
• Oliver Rowe and Austyn Sheehan (Grade 4, Cardigan Consolidated School): Soundproofing 

Elementary Grade 5 — Top projects

• Abby Scotland (Grade 5, West Royalty Elementary School): Optical Illusions 
• Lydia MacKay (Grade 5, Gulf Shore Consolidated School): Energy-saving paint 
• Caitlin Noall and Isla Arbing (Grade 5, Parkside Elementary School): The Tumbler Test 
• Sullivan Veinot and Tycen Sheehan (Grade 5, Cardigan Consolidated School): Tsunami 
• Greyson Dewar and Reece Holden (Grade 5, West Royalty Elementary School): EGGcellent Teeth 
• Jack McLaren (Grade 5, L.M. Montgomery Elementary School): Does My Mom Really Need Expensive Shampoo? 
• Charlotte Beatty (Grade 5, Donagh Regional School): Heh, Mold? Whatcha Eatin’? 

Elementary Grade 6 — Top projects

• Myla Doucette (Grade 6, Gulf Shore Consolidated School): Take a break from the wind! 
• Ella Sherren (Grade 6, Gulf Shore Consolidated School): Cover Crops 
• Ezra DeRoche (Grade 6, Donagh Regional School): Are You Faster Than a 6 Grader? 
• Marcus Rodgerson (Grade 6, Donagh Regional School): Sound and Concentration 
• Jack Shaw (Grade 6, L.M. Montgomery Elementary School): How Far will a Mouse Trap Car Go? 
• Jackson Eye (Grade 6, L.M. Montgomery Elementary School): Solar Panel Power 
• Collins Baird (Grade 6, L.M. Montgomery Elementary School): Unravelling Allergies
• Jayde Quinn (Grade 6, Cardigan Consolidated School): Farm Fresh vs. Store-bought Eggs 
• Mariella Walsh (Grade 6, West Royalty Elementary School): Which environment affects your memory the most? 
• Rohen McDonald (Grade 6, L.M. Montgomery Elementary School): Are you in Control of Video Games or are They in Control of You?