Tuesday 21st March saw Year 7 – 9 students take part in the annual Northgate Science Fair.
Students who attend the weekly STEM Science club had started their preparations before Christmas which culminated in a fair to present their findings. Initially they were informed of the theme for the fair – ‘connections’. They researched potential projects and came up with an equipment list for the Science Technicians. They were working to a budget too, so any items required had to fit with this. In the weekly meetings, students researched, did their experiments and collected data. They then had to put it all together in a presentation for other students, staff and family members to see.
There were so many incredible pieces of work on display which showed that a lot of time and effort had gone into them. The projects also covered such a wide range of topics on the theme of connections. Mr Brett, Head of Science, had the tough job of deciding on the winners and runners up.
The winners were Teale N and Harry W (Year 9). Their project looked at reaction times after eating a mint and perhaps surprisingly, they discovered that people’s reaction times improved after they had eaten a mint. Dr Hone even tested it out and it worked! Harry said, ‘Our project was if mint made your reaction time quicker or slower. Most people’s reaction time was quicker but some were slower. So we did the ruler drop test and we found 2 other reaction tests on the internet. I have enjoyed this year’s science fair even more than last year’s one!’
Runner’s up prizes went to Wyn E and Evelyn W (Year 9) whose project looked at the transpiration of plants in different weather conditions. They were able to simulate different conditions in their experiment. Wyn said of his project, ‘Our project was about transpiration in plants, and delving into how it is affected by different conditions such as warm, windy, or humid environments. When doing this project, I most enjoyed replicating the conditions in accurate ways to observe the effects it had and collect data. A challenge I faced was the setup of the potometer as we had to be careful to make sure no air bubbles were trapped.’
Additional runners up were Bella B (Year 9) and Harry B (Year 7). Their project looked at the connection between friends and family and how to have good mental health, even suggesting activities such as juggling to help promote good mental health. Bella commented, ‘I’ve enjoyed this year’s Science Fair very much and I have learned that there’s many other sciences that people may not think are that interesting, but they are and they’re very fun to research about.’ Harry, who took part in his first Northgate Science Fair, said, ‘I enjoyed that we could see other people’s work and also tell people what we had found out.’
A big well done to everyone who took part, for the time and commitment shown as well as the scientific knowledge and understanding. Mrs Simms and Mr Fox were extremely impressed and will now be sorting out Crest Awards for students who have met the award criteria.
