Local students to attend national science fair

Twelve of Calgary’s brightest young scientists will be flying to Charlottetown to showcase their science fair projects and battle some of the smartest students in Canada.

After winning top honours at this weekend’s Calgary Youth Science Fair, the Calgary students will travel to the Canada Wide Science Fair in May.

The 12 winning students competed against nearly 800 young scientists in Grades 5 through 12. The winning work includes a project on finding a cure for childhood brain tumours and another on remediation of the oilsands.

Every year, the students’ science projects get better and better, said Susan Michaud, Calgary Youth Science Fair spokeswoman.

“It’s amazing every year we go. It’s new and it’s different and you don’t often see the same idea done the same way twice,” Michaud said. “The creativity and the innovation is amazing.”

Both the regional and the national science fairs are an opportunity for students to get excited about science.

“It gives those kids a chance to showcase their knowledge, their passions, their innovations, their creativity about and around science,” she said.

Calgary’s 12 top young scientists are in Grades 7 through 12. They will compete for scholarships and monetary prizes at the Canada Wide Science Fair at the University of Prince Edward Island on May 12 to 19. Students who compete at the national fair have gone on to patent their projects and work in their research fields.

“For a lot of them, it leads towards careers in science,” Michaud said.