Three young, local scientists advance to Canada-Wide Science Fair after winning the Peterborough Regional Science Fair at Trent University
Holy Cross, Montessori students advance to nationals
Just because a product is labelled flushable, doesn’t mean it is.
That’s what high school student Holly Tetzlaff learned during her experiments for the project she entered in the Peterborough Regional Science Fair.
The 49th annual competition happened Wednesday at Trent University.
This year’s event drew 375 students from 25 schools, showing 254 projects.
Tetzlaff is in Grade 12 at East Northumberland Secondary School in Brighton. Her project, Now You See It Now You Don’t – Flushability is Not Magic, won her first place at the fair.
The teen scientist tested various products labelled flushable, comparing their disintegration to toilet paper, which is indeed flushable.
Her results?
“They’re not flushable. They don’t disintegrate like toilet paper does,” Tetzlaff said.
That’s causing major problems with Canada’s sewer systems, she said, which is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions to repair.
The 17-year-old said she noticed people taking note of her results, and that was what she’d hoped for.
“That’s the biggest goal for me, is just being able to bring public awareness to this big problem that’s happening worldwide,” she said.
Tetzlaff is off to New Brunswick in the fall to study science and kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick.
She visited the university in Grade 9 when the Canada-Wide Science Fair was held there. Tetzlaff thought so much of the school, she made a big decision right there and then.
“I said I’m coming here in four
years.”
But before that happens, Tetzlaff and the two runners-up at Wednesday’s fair will head to Ottawa in May for the CanadaWide Science Fair.
Second place went to Jacob Bowman, of Holy Cross Secondary School, for his project on the
effects of road salt on brook trout and aquatic invertebrates in Harper Creek.
The Children’s Montessori School’s Rowan Harris-Stoertz won third place for his project on K9 Protection.
Queen Mary Public School students Madeleine Hill and Margot Wilson didn’t place, but enjoyed the fair just the same.
The Grade 5 students tested whether or not slime could be made without using glue.
Slime is a fidget device for kids. “It took out fidget spinners,” Margot explained.
Turns out, slime does need to be made with glue.
“You need glue 100 per cent to make slime work. It will not work without glue,” said Margot, 10.
The duo also entered a project in last year’s fair. It was titled Gummies in Our Tummies and looked the how gummy bears break down in various liquids.
The girls thought their slime project was better received by the judges.
They plan to enter again next year, but aren’t quite sure what they’ll experiment with.
“Maybe something a little more serious, because this year we did slime and last year we did gummies,” said Madeleine, 10.