Latest news with #sciencefair
RNZ News
15-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Getting hands on with science creating 'good scientific citizens'
A student from Rotorua Girls' High School explains her project at Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā Mātauranga Māori Science and Design Fair in 2024. Photo: Supplied/Te Arawa Lakes Trust Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā - a science fair based in Rotorua - is hoping to attract more young women into the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā Mātauranga Māori Science and Design Fair is run by Te Arawa Lakes Trust and this year will be held from 23-25 July at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre. Rotorua Girls' High School science teacher Geraldine Cunningham said this will be the third year students at the school have entered exhibits of their own. The fair helps learners who might find classroom learning a bit more difficult, with the teachers mentoring them to find the knowledge themselves, she said. Cunningham said getting more young wāhine involved in STEM requires them to have people they can model themselves after. "If they see somebody in there that's succeeding then they tend to go 'oh yeah I can do this too.' In my earlier years teaching science it was all textbook stuff and I just looked at the kids and they just weren't engaged or anything." As part of the fair, the schools year 9 and 10 classes work as part of a collective on a pilot program called Manaaki Mauri, which involves the ecological restoration of the Sanatorium Reserve, a nationally significant geothermal landscape on the edge of central Rotorua. "So the long term goal is to get it back to what it was before the human impacts and so most of our projects revolve around that," Cunningham said. Students have the chance to look at plastic pollution and its affect on native species in the reserve, including the endangered tarāpuka or black billed gull and a colony of long-tailed bats, she said. Students from Rotorua Girls' High School with their projects at Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā Mātauranga Māori Science and Design Fair in 2024. Photo: Supplied/Te Arawa Lakes Trust Giving students the chance to engage in hands on science out in the field helps to create "good scientific citizens," she said. "I've watched these kids go from 'I can just litter anywhere, it doesn't affect me' to actually thinking more about our effects that we have on our taiao (environment). "With that connection comes immediate engagement because it's real, it's not going away, it's not fairytale atoms and chemicals... it's actually robust and real for them." Cunningham said she had absolutely seen more of an interest in science from her students since they began to enter the fair. Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā has given the teachers an avenue to teach science through Papatūānuku and through mātauranga Māori, she said. "Rather than teach to the curriculum actually make it real and engaging for our young people, especially our young women, because they are going to be the ones that in the future need to look after our whenua and taiao." Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā event coordinator Keeley Grantham. Photo: Supplied/Te Arawa Lakes Trust Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā event coordinator Keeley Grantham said engaging with students directly was often the best way to get them involved. "I think the best way to get any young rangatahi but especially young wāhine involved is actually just having a kōrero to them from our perspective as wāhine in science. "To showcase that its not just this scary environment of labcoats and Bunsen burners and that science is much broader than that, you can be out in the field, you can research a whole heap of different things and having that face to face engagement and showcasing them things in the field is what I find has the biggest impact." Grantham said since the fair began five years ago there has been a gradual increase in the number of young wāhine entering, but having Rotorua Girls involved specifically has really given it a boost. "This event is growing every year, I mean we've got nearly 250 kids coming along to the event next week to actually participate and share their ideas, so that's 250 minds combining to look at issues in our taiao." Grantham acknowledged the effort from the tamariki who have entered projects in the fair this year, as well as our kaiako (teachers) and whānau who support them. Event coordinator Keeley Grantham congratulates tamariki at Te Tūkohu Ngāwhā Mātauranga Māori Science and Design Fair in 2024. Photo: Supplied/Te Arawa Lakes Trust Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
CTV News
07-06-2025
- Science
- CTV News
Young minds explore big questions at National Science Fair
Sarah Plowman has the story of the 63rd annual Canada-wide Science Fair in Fredericton, N.B. showcasing some of the country's brightest scientific minds. Canada's brightest whiz kids converged on Fredericton, N.B., this week for a national science fair, showing off their research projects and hoping to earn a chance to win some of the event's $1.3 million in prize and scholarship money. Reni Barlow, executive director of Youth Science Canada, said his organization is on a mission to engage youth in doing projects through STEM -- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. 'It's a way of understanding what science, technology, engineering and math are really about and experiencing it firsthand,' said Barlow, adding that topics range from aerospace to natural resources and climate change. The nearly 400 students competing were previously recognized at one of 100 regional science fairs in Canada. Six universities are providing scholarships to medal winners. The weeklong event wraps up this weekend. Sara Waqas, a 16-year-old from Calgary's STEM Innovation Academy High School, won the award for Best Project in the Discovery category. She focused her project on schizophrenia and treatment, developing a prototype molecule that would target schizophrenia patients who are currently treatment-resistant—which she points out is about a third of patients. 'I look into neurobiological profiling,' she said. 'I designed a prototype molecule that would target those defects, rather than just being like a large, nonspecific treatment.' Waqas says her research is all 'very preliminary' and that more validation tests and research need to confirm it. Evan Budz, a grade 9 student from Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School in Burlington, Ont., won the award for Best Project in the Innovation category. After getting inspired by the fluid movement of a snapping sea turtle, he created a robot that moves like one. 'I thought it'd be interesting to try to replicate it with a robot that would have a much lower impact on the swimming environment, compared with more traditional propeller-based systems,' he said. Budz's robot uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and monitor threats in aquatic environments, such as invasive species and coral bleaching. 'I'm working at adding more in the future,' he said. 'This allows a variety of important organizations to go and conduct remedial efforts in these areas, essentially allowing them to improve the health of aquatic ecosystems.' Mateo Jarquin, a first-year CEGEP student at Champlain College-Lennoxville in Sherbrooke, Que., developed a robotic hand called F.L.E.X (Fully Leveraged Exo-Hand). The hand tracks and mirrors finger movements in real time and can be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world with a camera. It doesn't require gloves or physical attachments. His cousin, who lives in Ontario, tested it and was able to control the robotic hand. 'And he was able to control the robotic hand from Ontario all the way to Quebec, as if it was his actual hand in front of me,' he said. 'This type of technology could one day be used to perform tasks that are too dangerous for humans, such as disarming a bomb or performing space station repairs. Maybe even surgery from across the world could all be possible.' Sarah McGrath, a grade 10 student at Halifax Grammar School in Nova Scotia, focused her project on whether she could make fish feed for aquaculture by growing microalgae with recycled fish byproducts, like bones, tails and eyes. 'This microalgae is rich in Omega-3s, which is important because fish don't produce Omega-3,' she said, noting that the important dietary nutrient for human health is sourced from what fish eat. She said her method is a cost-effective and sustainable way to grow microalgae. 'This matters because fish stocks are depleting and the quality of our fish is rapidly decreasing,' she said. 'My results show that there's potential to use even more fish byproducts and utilize this waste that exists.' Amy Clark, a 15-years-old from Sanford Collegiate in Sanford, Man., combined her passion for physics and the environment into a research topic and looked at which Prairie province has the highest amount of radon in its soil. In her study, where she sampled soil from a few spots in Manitoba, along with Regina and Calgary, Manitoba had the highest levels of radon. She explained that increased levels of radon in soil can attribute to health risks, noting that radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. As fun as it was to build the project, Clark is also excited to be at nationals, saying the event is more than just talking about your project. 'It's about making friends and meeting new people. Connecting with people who are like-minded individuals,' she said. 'They love science. You love science, so they're really easy to talk to you.'
CBC
06-06-2025
- Science
- CBC
Canada's brightest young minds gather in N.B. to showcase solutions to global challenges
Some of the brightest young scientific minds in Canada are in Fredericton this week, presenting their research into how to solve many of the world's problems, including in the fields of climate change, public health, food security and sustainable energy. "We're a long way from the old days of the baking-soda volcanoes and Styrofoam-ball solar systems," said Reni Barlow, executive director of Youth Science Canada The 63rd annual Canada-Wide Science Fair began Monday, featuring about 340 projects, the best from 100 regional fairs across the country. It's open to the public for a final day on Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Fifteen of the competitors are from New Brunswick. "These are real-world scientific investigations or engineering innovations, and they really are quite astounding," Barlow said. Project categories include aerospace, agriculture, fisheries and food, digital technology, disease and illness, energy, environment and climate change, natural resources and plain old scientific curiosity. "It really spans quite the gamut," he said. The student scientists are in Grades 7 through 12 and some are from the CEGEP level in Quebec. Grade 7 student Arnav Samanth of Saint John's Millidgeville North School did a project to help improve radiotherapy cancer treatment for patients who have a tumour in the thoracic region. His dad works in cancer treatment. "When the patient breathes, the cancer tumour can move and radiation can go to the wrong areas," Arnav said. "So this is dangerous for the patient." He built a model of a device to coach patients on their breathing during this treatment that is more user friendly and portable than what's currently available. First-year CEGEP student Mateo Jarquin of Sherbrooke, Que., built a robotic hand that can use a camera from anywhere in the world to detect and copy finger movements in real time. "It was a real Tony Stark moment," when he first got it to work, he said. Then, he tested out the remote capability with the help of his cousin in Ontario. "He was able to control the robotic hand as if it was his actual hand," said Mateo. "He didn't have to wear any gloves or physical attachments … that kind of restrict your movements." He said it could have all kinds of applications, like disarming bombs, space exploration or remote surgery. Mateo posts videos on YouTube under the name Mateotechlab. He said he hopes it inspires others to try hands-on learning. "I didn't know how to do any of this before I got started … 3D printing, coding. ... In my opinion, there's no better way to get good at something than to simply start doing it." Grade 10 student Sara Waqas goes to STEM Innovation Academy in Calgary. She likes to read journal articles and watch science videos online and thinks about what she might do to fill the gaps in scientific knowledge. For her project, Sara designed a molecule that she hopes could help the 33 per cent of patients who are resistant to current antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia. She said it's more effective at targeting dysfunction in the brain, and she hopes it will help improve quality of life and function for people with schizophrenia. Grade 8 student Callie Dennis of Highview Public School in Pembroke, Ont., developed a way to compost plastic using mushrooms. "I see blue oyster mushrooms growing all over in the back behind my cottage, and I saw an article that said maybe mushrooms might have the potential to degrade plastic. So I decided I'm curious about this. I'd like to see for myself." She used mycelium spores on barley to grow mushrooms on plastic bottles. The mushrooms degraded 24 per cent of the plastic. She sees a day when instead of putting plastic bottles in a recycling bin, they can be composted in the backyard. "Our Earth is just infested by this gross plastic stuff. I feel like we should take better care of the place that helps us stay alive." From science fair to real-life applications Almost all of the projects at the science fair are based on a personal interest or hobby, Barlow said. "It's an opportunity to explore what science, technology, engineering and math are about by immersing yourself in a real problem or a real research situation and taking it as far as you can go," he said. "Many of them tell us afterwards that it was a life-changing experience." Some go on to publish or commercialize their projects or start companies. For example, Adam Noble of Peterborough, Ont., won best project in 2013 and went on to found Noblegen, which produces food materials from algae, Barlow said. About 5,000 students from the area are also visiting the fair and a trade show related to science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, which is happening at the same time.
RNZ News
02-06-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Wellington students win big at world's oldest and largest science fair
Isabelle Aduna (L) with NIWA chief scientist oceans Dr Mike Williams at the NIWA Wellington Regional Science Fair in 2024. Photo: Supplied / NIWA Two Wellington students have won major awards at the world's oldest and largest science fair, held in the United States. The pair competed against nearly 2000 students from 70 countries at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Ohio. Wellington College Year 13 student Jesse Rumball-Smith took out first place in the behavioural and social sciences category for a smartphone app he developed that detects road risks and helps promote safer driving. Jesse Rumball-Smith. Photo: Supplied / NIWA Wellington Girls' College Year 11 student Isabelle Aduna won third place in the chemistry section for her project that used fruit and vegetable waste as natural dyes for sustainable solar cells. Science educator Amanda Hood said she hoped the success of the first New Zealand team to take part in the prestigious event would inspire other students to enter their upcoming regional science and technology fairs. She backed the establishment of a national science fair so top students could qualify directly for the international event. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Arab News
01-06-2025
- General
- Arab News
Students organize science fair to bridge STEM access in Saudi Arabia
DHAHRAN: Two years ago, when freshmen Jungho Kang and Raahim Lone met during a group math project at the American School Dhahran, they quickly bonded over a shared love of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) — and the realization that they wanted to be part of a science-centric competitive space. But as non-Saudis in the Kingdom, no such space existed for them. So, they built one from scratch. Now in 10th grade, the two co-founded SANES (Saudi Arabian National Engineering Symposium), a new, student-led one-day science fair that took place for the first time on Saturday at their school. What began as an ambitious idea between classmates has since grown into a dynamic, Eastern Province-wide event that welcomed more than 60 participants from more than seven schools. Lone, who moved to Saudi Arabia from Canada two years ago, said it took time to adjust to his new home — but building SANES with Kang has helped him find his footing. Living in the same compound made collaboration easy. They found a sweet spot near their homes where they would regularly meet to brainstorm and plan the fair before heading home. It became their unofficial HQ. They spent countless evenings after school refining their vision. 'We spent freshman year working on it. I think this year it's been more consistent so I guess you could say we've been working on it for two years, but we've actually been really working on it for one,' Lone told Arab News with a laugh. From the start, their goal was clear: give all students living in the Kingdom — Saudi and non-Saudi — a chance to present their ideas, gain feedback, and learn from professionals. 'I really hope that every contestant just takes away something good and I hope they can learn something from these judges because we got really good judges — they're all really experienced — and just presenting and communicating their ideas because that was our main goal from the very beginning,' Kang told Arab News. The event featured two rounds of judging, with a panel made up of local and international experts. Kang and Lone ensured the evaluation process was impartial, with teachers helping them filter initial submissions before handing them over to the judges. They did not judge the final projects themselves but trusted the panel of experts to do the evaluating. Behind the scenes, organizing SANES felt a bit like launching a startup, Lone said. 'We started cold emailing all organizations — universities, companies, organizations — we even got so far as having online pitches with some organizations, but that never really came into fruition. 'So then we kind of turned into our ISG school group when our teachers found out that we were doing such things, and our old superintendent brought us in for a meeting.' With support from the International Schools Group, which runs five schools in the Eastern Province, the students booked their school campus as the venue, secured snacks, and assembled an impressive judging lineup. First place went to students from British School Dhahran, while ISG Dammam students claimed second and third. Kang, originally from South Korea, has lived in the Kingdom since he was four. He is especially drawn to mathematical research and is passionate about expanding access to science education. He co-founded SANES 'to help students across KSA engage more freely in scientific research.' When they started high school, they wanted to join a science fair but found they were not eligible for the Saudi competitions nor the international ones. So they made their own. Hans Ott, director of teaching and learning at ISG, praised the initiative. 'What's exciting about today is that it was started by two of our students.' 'When they were 14, 15-year-old students, they said 'we want a STEM competition in Saudi Arabia.' 'And they created an inclusive environment where international students, Saudi students — anyone in the Kingdom — had a place to showcase their talent and love and passion for STEM.' Assistant principal Will McConnell, who helped mentor the students through the process, was especially proud. 'The journey has been both inspiring and instructive. SANES began as a student-led vision, and watching it come to life has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career,' McConnell told Arab News. 'If students walk away feeling inspired, seen and empowered to pursue science and engineering further, then we've succeeded,' McConnell added. Superintendent Rhonda Norris echoed his words. 'Success from my perspective has already occurred. Our students had a vision based on their passion and interests and through the support of the leadership team and our community, they brought it to fruition. 'We are proud of these young men and what they have accomplished today,' she said. As for Kang and Lone? They are already thinking about what comes next. They hope to have the chance to go to college in the US, but in the meantime, with two more years of high school ahead, they are not slowing down — creating opportunities not only for themselves, but for their fellow students. They have already promised to 'continue after we graduate, too.'
