On March 23, students at North Grenville District High School displayed their unique ideas at the North Grenville Rotary Science Fair – the first of its kind since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 100 projects were on display, many exploring new ideas, and some revisiting “classic” science concepts.
Mr. Matthew Wilson was the teacher in charge of the science fair. He explained that there was an annual tradition of holding a science fair, open to visiting public, for several years before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to both regulations and health precautions, science fairs were not held in the most recent few years, making this year’s return very exciting. Due to some forecasted freezing rain, there were fears that school bus cancellations might delay the science fair until March 24, but buses ran as scheduled, and the fair proceeded on March 23 as planned.
The range of projects on display was nothing short of astounding. Some examples of projects include: Optical Illusions, Terrifying Heart Rate, Impossible Labyrinth, Bolt and Crossbow Ballistics, Hot Wheels Aerodynamics, Components of a Four Stroke Engine, Homemade Launcher, How to Make a Light Bulb, Are Gas Cars Better Than Electric Cars?, How Different Popular Drinks Can Affect Your Teeth, Finger Prints, The Effects of Music While Studying, Vinegar Baking Soda Rocket, “Wood” it Burn?, and How to Make Plastic Out of Milk and Acid. This list is by no means exhaustive – there were dozens of truly amazing projects on display, with students ready to answer questions and explain their unique ideas and use of the scientific method to test them.
Projects were lined up in rows throughout the school gym, allowing a convenient walk through to see all projects. Main judging with a winner for each category took place in the morning, with speciality judging taking place after lunch. The specialty judging is for sponsored awards. An awards ceremony took place in the early afternoon to honour the winners.
The winners are:
- Plant Biology – 1) Layla McEvoy 2) Chloe MacLeod 3) Peyton Christopher
- Aerodynamics – 1) Owen Maxwell and Daniel Johnson 2) Kayl Stuart 3) Declan McIntyre
- Human Studies – 1) Tommy Crus 2) Ella Bon and Gracie Robinson 3) Madden Leonard
- Human Health – 1) Blake Ralph and Ayla Ritchie 2) Cali Tabbert and Lacey Scott 3) Grace Mitchell and Brooke Barlow
- Product Testing – 1) Keira Watkins 2) Simon Desnoo 3) Theo Kelsey and Matthew Grus
- General Physics – 1) Karis Wood 2) Sera Bernado and Nasim Armasrai 3) Lily Ferguson and Ella Hyndman
- Mechanics and Engineering – 1) Brianna Auger and Cullen Badley 2) Ava Ryan 3) Jonah Foley (honourable mention – Aidan Murphy and Frankie Thomson)
- General Chemistry – 1) Liam Gibson 2) Owen Slattery and Aaron Benning 3) Neve Crossman and Lexi Ward
- Sports Science – 1) Ethan Finbow 2) Emma McDermott 3) Jackson Harrison and Cooper Tobin
- General Biology and Environmental Studies – 1) Aurora Vanstoken 2) Savannah Sharko and Briyanna Wilberforce 3) Lincoln Booth (honourable mention – Kiki and Coco Henderson)
- NGCSC Best Visual Display – Neve Crossman and Lexi Ward
- The Jim Wrong Engineering/Mechanics Award – Ava Ryan
- The George Fisher Animal Husbandry/Health award – Emily Eckland and Zoe Saar
- FFC Naturalist/Environmental Award – Mary West
- Russ Mosher Computer/Technology Award – Rian Chicoine and Elliott Lemieux
- The Rotary Club of Kemptville Best of Fair Award – 1st) Liam Gibson 2nd) Layla McEvoy 3rd) Tommy Crus
