John Ludvig (left) and Calvin Heise were Grade 7 students at McGowan Park elementary in 2013 when they showed off their science project, Cell Phones and Reaction Time: Is a 12-year-old’s reaction time affected by talking on the phone or texting? The new crop of youngsters and their projects will be showcasedon Thursday and Friday at the annual Cariboo Mainline Regional Science Fair at Thompson Rivers University
Maybe it was the time mom, a chemistry teacher, brought home dry ice and proceeded to show Kieren O’Neil all the cool things that could be done with it.
Maybe the dry ice was preferable to focusing on French, a subject Kieren doesn’t plan to continue studying now that he’s at Sa-Hali secondary.
Or, it could simply be the joy of discovering by doing, he said.
Whatever the reason, Kieren — and plenty more like him — have gathered at Thompson Rivers University’s gymnasium for the annual Cariboo Mainline Regional Science Fair.
It runs on Thursday and Friday.
This year, 165 students from grades 4 through 12 will have 130 projects on display, ready to be judged and with the hope of winning one of the awards — maybe even one that will see them move on to the national level.
Kieren’s been to that stage, finishing first in his category last year at the Canadian championship, held in Windsor. This year, it will be in Fredericton.
Kieren, then a Grade 7 student at McGowan Park elementary, won for the application he invented.
Deciphering Recycling was created to provide facts and basics on recycling, what the codes on plastic items mean and whether they can be recycled.
Winning meant receiving a cash prize, a mentorship with BlackBerry development experts — the company sponsored the award — and receiving a BlackBerry smartphone.
For this year’s fair, he’s working to improve the application, inspired by a desire to “be able to get my app on my phone.”
It’s now available for Android smartphones.
Kieren used some online sites to create his application, taking his own photos to enhance the learning process.
His sister will also be at the fair with her own project on the value of various sun-screen sun-protection factors.
A variety of awards will be presented at the regional level, including one for students in grades 11 or 12, who will receive a tuition-free semester at TRU.
For more information, go online to sciencefair.sd73.bc.ca.
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