United Counties Science Fair will inspire the scientists of tomorrow

It can be the spark that lights a future career in physics, engineering or medicine.

It can change a student’s life by providing funds for higher education.

And most importantly, it can show kids that science can be cool.

The 2010 United Counties Science Fair is slated for April 10 at St. Lawrence Intermediate School (SLIS) and will attract entrants from 20 schools across Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry counties. “It’s a chance for kids to get a feeling for the fun of science,” said Chairman Jason Marshall, a secondary teacher at SLIS. “When kids develop a science fair project it really opens their eyes to the wonders of science in almost any subject.”

A good project teaches students about problem solving through the scientific method, said Marshall. It teaches students research skills, communication skills and proper planning – the kinds of skills that are transferable to any subject or job. “These are the kinds of skills that employers want their workers to have and that you want your citizens to have because they let them step back and analyze a problem and come up with a solution.”

On a wider level, inspiring future scientists will allow for the creation of the kinds of innovations that will help keep our society competitive, he added.

Winners at the county level are awarded trophies and plaques and can also access bursaries and scholarships from various local businesses, colleges and universities that can be used toward post-secondary education.

Students will be competing in four broad age groups: bantam (grade 6), junior (grades 7-8), intermediate (grades 9-10) and senior (grades 11-12). They can enter projects in two broad categories: life sciences and physical sciences.

Competitors will set up their projects on April 9 at SLIS with the competition beginning the next day. During the fair, judges will visit contestants and quiz them on their knowledge about their subjects and evaluate their methodology. Winners in the various categories will be announced at an awards ceremony at 4 p.m. that day.

Organizers will host a Science Spectacular show in the cafeteria a half-hour before the awards ceremony. The science showcase will demonstrate various fun experiments in science involving things “that light up, blow up and make a big bang.” to excite students, said Marshall.

Students say they are excited about the fair.

Jamie McEwen, 14, and partner Owen Dulmage, 13, are working on a zoology experiment called Owls: Who Gives a Hoot?

The students are analyzing owl pellets – or “barf” – to discover how much an owl eats and what it eats based on stomach contents. They are looking at the pellets of smaller barn owls, compared with documented research about great horned owls, eastern screech owls and snowy owls. The pair’s basic hypothesis is that larger owls eat more than smaller owls.

McEwen says creating a science fair project has taught him how to synthesize his research results into a concisely written project – a skill that he will need in future when he becomes an engineer. “Personally, I also think it’s going to be cool to see what other people are doing and what they’ve learned,” he said of the fair.

The four top students at the fair will gain a berth at the Canada-Wide Science Fair May 15-23 in Peterborough.