Regional Students Attend the 48th Annual Canada Wide Science Fair in Winnipeg May 9 – 17 2009

Kimmie Gulevich, Taneille Johnson, Dylan Kassian, Todd Aalhus, Colson Fellers; missing Jacquie Gulevich

Canada-Wide Science Fair participants are finalists from the 102 regional fairs held nationally. They compete in a variety of categories, including life sciences, health sciences, physical sciences, biotechnology, engineering, computer science and the recently added environmental innovation category.  Students in Grades 7 to 12, representing all provinces and territories, showcase their projects for judges and the public as they compete for close to $1 million in scholarships and grants.

The national science fair is a venue for far more than competition though as participants act as ambassadors for their home region and develop friendships with fellow students from across the country.  An important goal of the annual event is to promote youth education as well as the passion and excitement of science. "We believe that young Canadian scientists are the next generation of innovators and this is an amazing event to encourage and support their interest" says Reni Barlow, Executive Director of Canada’s Youth Science Foundation.

Our regional representatives returned from Canada-Wide with 5 awards in hand:

•    Kimmie Gulevich was awarded the Bronze medal and a monetary award in the Senior Earth and Environmental Science division; as well as winning the prestigious Engineers Without Borders Award – a trip to Ottawa in January to attend their National Conference an educational event which attracts the strongest student leaders from Canada’s engineering schools and professional engineers.  Participants focus on a pertinent issue then collaborate to discover solutions using tactics that combine the rigorous problem-solving expected of engineers with a sustainable approach to human development.  The conference goal is to have participants leave with the knowledge and motivation to become better global citizens; 2008’s issue was Fair Trade.
•    Dylan Kassian’s project on CO2 effects should a reservoir replace the existing Peace River valley with construction of the proposed Site C dam earned him a Bronze Medal and a $300 cash award in Junior Earth and Environmental Science.
•    Jacquie Gulevich received an Honourable Mention including a monetary award in Intermediate Health Science for her project on wicking and non-wicking fabrics and their effect on athletes’ comfort and recovery rates.
•    Colson Fellers’ project on the impacts of eating breakfast as opposed to going without garnered him an Honourable Mention including a $100 cash award in Junior Earth and Environmental Science.
•    Todd Aalhus, recipient of the 2009 BC Hydro Power Smart Award for his project “What’s Heating You?” which investigated using a lagoon as a home heating source, also attended Canada-Wide and although he did not win an award, he was a great ambassador for our region.

Congratulations to these impressive young scientists who were among the less than 500 nation-wide participants.

Taneille Johnson was one of sixteen of Canada’s brightest high school scientists selected by Youth Science Canada to represent our country at the 2009 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held in Reno, Nevada.  Intel ISEF is the world’s largest science fair showcasing the work of more than 1,500 exceptional high-school science students from more than 50 countries.  The participants vie for nearly $4 million in scholarships and prizes; Taneille won a fourth place cash award of $500 in Cell and Molecular Biology for her project, “Defining Functional Interactions in Naturally Occurring Telomerase Mutants”.