Kiwanis regional science fair draws added entries to online edition
By KELLEN TANIGUCHI on May 4, 2021.
ktaniguchi@medicinehatnews.com@@kellentaniguchi The Kiwanis Southeast Alberta Regional Science fair went virtual this year and judges were impressed with the students’ work. “I think we were able to be successful because students are really getting used to this online virtual work, it’s nothing new to them,” said Patty Rooks, senior scientific consultant with Praxis Science Outreach Society. She says this year had a record number of participants, with around 80 Grade 4-12 students showcasing science projects – she says there are typically 50 or 60. “I was just amazed at how many registrations we had and especially from the rural schools,” said Rooks. “We had a lot of rural students and maybe having a virtual science fair opened up that possibility to rural students because they didn’t have to travel to Medicine Hat.” Rooks says there was a wide range of projects made by the students including projects on microplastics, surface tension, energy efficiency of wood and investigating how much sugar is in soft drinks. “Those are all amazing topics for students of this age,” said Rooks. “I can’t say enough about how proud I am of some of the projects the teachers shared with me and the great job that they did.” Rooks says they have chosen some students to represent the region at the virtual Canada Wide Science Festival in Ottawa, scheduled for May 17-21. She says they won’t get the all-expense trip to Ottawa this year but the fair has some virtual tours and interactive games for students to compete in. The stakes are still the same, says Rooks – the students have a possibility of earning scholarships, summer internships or a medal for their project. She says students from the region have often brought home medals. Science fairs allow students to show off their work and passion, says Rooks. “We don’t pick the topics for the students, this is something that they are interested in, passionate about and want to investigate further and this is their opportunity to be proud of their work,” she said. “Not every student excels at sports, or art, or music and this is just an opportunity to showcase another area that students can shine at and be proud of.” 12-11
