On Saturday, 28 March, a selected group of students from MGCI traveled to the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Campus to participate in the Toronto Science Fair.
10 projects were chosen to represent the school. Projects were either completed in partnerships, or as individuals. Each project was either an in-depth study on a scientific topic, an experiment, or an innovation. Later on in the day, students attended workshops designed to explore various scientific topics, and attended a lecture that discussed the properties of black holes. The day concluded with an awards ceremony in which students received medals and special prizes.
Projects were marked on the level of clarity, scientific thought, effort, and enthusiasm conveyed. Many students were also probed with difficult questions that tested their level of understanding on their chosen topic.
Some stated that this was the most stressful time of the day, and by the time this was completed, most students were mentally exhausted. “It was very stressful and tiring to present all of my content in front of the judges for more than two hours,” commented Bruce He, a grade 9 participant.
After the judging portion of the day, students spent one hour in a workshop. Each student chose one of six activities to take part in. The topics varied from “Computer Science Meets Mathematics”, to ones that focused on forensic science.
Professor Damian Pope, a theoretical physicist from the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics, was the guest speaker. He discussed properties of the black hole, and gave the students a vivid image of what it would be like to be inside a black hole.
The last part of the day was the awards ceremony, and it lasted for over an hour and a half, due to the large amount of prizes that were given.
Two projects from MGCI were awarded special prizes. Vicky Xu won the Chemical Institute of Canada Award valued at $100, and Arani Kulamurugan and Julie Xiao won the Mathew Shawn McConville Memorial Prize valued at $200.
Several other projects from Garneau won medals. Three projects won Bronze, two projects won Silver, and three projects won Gold. The winners are as follows:
Bronze: Cheng Cheng Lin and Jessica Fung, Tom Tang and Pablo Gonzalez, and Matthew Tse and Bruce He
Silver: Julie Xiao and Arani Kulamurugan, and Deifilia To and Dorothy Qian
Gold: Vicky Xu, Lawrence Pang, and Alex Cai and Julien Lin
Ten individuals from the fair were chosen to attend an all-expense paid trip to the Canada Wide Science Fair in May. Though MGCI students did well at the fair, no student from Garneau was granted this opportunity.
