The top five award winners at the Western Manitoba Science Fair spent their week in Edmonton the last week in May at the national event, the Canada Wide Science Fair in Edmonton. The students called the University of Alberta home base for the week.
Brookdale School teacher, and co-coordinator of the WMSF, Robyn Forsman chaperones these amazing students each year who participate in the Canada Wide competition.
“The executive director of Youth Science Canada had mentioned at one of our meetings that the students who attend the Canada Wide Science Fair, that out of the about half a million students that do science fair projects in Canada, the students that were at the National Science Fair represent about 0.01% of those students,” shares Forsman.
“So already before we’re looking at any awards, these are our top young scientists in our country, which is exciting,” she adds.
“It’s really amazing walking through the exhibit hall, looking at the projects, to see what kind of things these young students are working on and what things they’re passionate about,” says Forsman. “And I think that’s a big part of it is they’re choosing things that are relevant to their own lives or to their communities. And you can just see the passion when they’re presenting their projects!”
The five students from Westman represented both the rural and the urban presented four projects, with a set of sisters partnering on one.
Abereham Moges
Abereham Moges
Vincent Massy High School Grade 9 student, Abereham Moges was researching different therapies to use for melanoma.
“He was looking at some options that would be suited for people maybe in poor countries, things that they could access and things that might be more effective just because melanoma is more common in those areas of the world,” explains Forsman.
Angelina Zhang
Angelina Zhang
Grade 10 student at Neelin High School, Angelina Zhang, did a follow up study on something she had started last year researching different Chinese herbal formulations and using them for acne treatment.
“So, she did a few different tests to see what combinations would work the best,” says Forsman.
Jade and Skylar Pratt
Jade and Skylar Pratt
Twins, Jade and Skylar Pratt, from Ochre River School, titled their project ‘Breaking the Flow’. Their project was to study the effectiveness of dry dams in helping protect their watershed district because of elevated landforms around the lakes there.
Amelia Melvin
Amelia Melivn
Brandon student, Amelia Melvin, researched passive solar heating, studying more specifically what effect different surface colors would have on the amount of heat absorption that they would have in the sunlight.
Our CWSF Westman Award Winners:
Abraham Moges won a gold medal in the Intermediate Category. And Angelina Zhang received a silver medal in the Intermediate Category.
Abereham Moges wins gold in the Intermediate Category
Angelina Zhang wins silver in the Intermediate Category
“So, each of those medals also comes with entrance scholarships to a few different universities across Canada that those students can use once they graduate if they choose to attend those universities,” shares Forsman.
Please listen to more with Robyn Forsman on the Canada Wide Science Fair below!
