Great Success by Sudbury Students at the Canada-Wide Science Fair

Rainbow District School Board Chair, Doreen Dewar, congratulates Helen Czapor of R. L. Beattie Public School on capturing a Silver Medal at the Canada-Wide Science Fair with her project entitled Do you feel lucky?

John Laamanen of Algonquin Road Public School receives congratulations from Rainbow District School Board Chair, Doreen Dewar, for winning a Bronze Medal at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, for his project Magnetic Motor: Potential Clean Energy.

Canada-Wide Science Fair winner Lauren Wood of R. L. Beattie Public School proudly shows Rainbow District School Board Chair, Doreen Dewar, her Bronze Medal. She received national recognition for her project called Sudden Impact.

Rainbow District School Board Chair, Doreen Dewar, congratulates Megan Gran of Algonquin Road Public School on winning a Bronze Medal at the Canada-Wide Science Fair for her project entitled Trashbot: The Path of the Future.

Canada-Wide Science Fair Award Winners from Rainbow Schools

The four students from Rainbow Schools who attended the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island from May 12 to 19, 2012 came back with awards. Helen Czapor of R. L. Beattie Public School won Silver; Lauren Wood of R.L. Beattie Public School, Megan Gran of Algonquin Road Public School, and John Laamanen of Algonquin Road Public School received Bronze awards.

"On behalf of Rainbow District School Board, I would like to congratulate all local students who participated in the Canada-Wide Science Fair," said Board Chair Doreen Dewar. "You were among the top young scientists chosen to represent our community on the national stage and you made us very proud." She added: "Every significant discovery in the world began with an idea. I encourage students to keep observing, questioning and exploring and our world will continue to evolve in new and exciting ways."

Click here for more information on the winners from the Canada-Wide Science Fair.

Helen Czapor – CWSF – Silver Award

Grade 8

R. L. Beattie Public School

Do You Feel Lucky?
Helen used probability with computer simulations to create and test different strategies for the card game High-Low.  Her goal was to adapt the idea of card counting used in Blackjack to improve chances of winning. Helen programmed a computer simulation of the game and collected different kinds of win/lose statistics. She came up with a strategy that took advantage of a "running count" of high/low cards, and changed her program.  Finally, she tested a strategy only a computer could use, one that remembered all cards left at any time, to measure the best result possible.

Megan Gran – CWSF – Bronze Award

Grade 7

Algonquin Road Public School

Trashbot: The Path of the Future
Megan Gran programmed an Arduino robot to follow a line, bringing the garbage down to the end of a driveway. Using ultrasonic sensors, the robot avoids obstacles along the way, making it safe for children and animals while helping people with mobility problems accomplish chores. Megan spent four months building and programming her robot. Megan originally learned about building and programming robots in the Algonquin Robotics Club. She would like to thank Martin Gran who mentored her. Megan plans to make a full scale of her robot, possibly for her science fair project next year.

John Laamanen – CWSF – Bronze Award

Grade 7

Algonquin Road Public School

Magnetic Motor: Potential Clean Energy
John Laamanen used magnets to create circular repulsion to build his own Magnetic Motor that can repulse and create clean energy. He conducted many experiments and used his ideas and findings to improve his Magnetic Motor. His goal was to develop the most effective and environmentally friendly way possible to create clean, free energy.

Lauren Wood – CWSF – Bronze Award

Grade 8

R. L. Beattie Public School

Sudden Impact
Lauren’s experiment simulated low velocity meteorite impact craters. She determined the effect of a projectile’s size and drop height on the diameter of its resulting impact crater in a sand-filled container. She observed how mass and velocity are important factors in crater formation. Although the impact velocities encountered in this experiment were low compared to real meteorite impact structures, one can still observe and investigate important physical principles related to these collisions. Lauren discovered a correlation between some of the very old, very large impact craters and rich ore deposits associated with them.