Somersfield Science fair is a time of tension and reward

Follow your nose: Leah Amaral investigated the olfactory sensitivity of people according to age as part of her science investigation at Somersfield Academy

Leah Amaral

April 15, 2010 — For the month of January, researching, testing and graphing seems to be on every Somersfield student's mind. The reason? Science fair.

From the grades M1 through M3, every student at Somersfield Academy is required to come up with an experiment, collect data, and discuss and display the results. Some may find this time of year stressful, but for many students it is a chance to explore areas that they find interesting. The greatest advantage that kids at Somersfield have is the freedom to be able to choose any topic and any problem they want to, giving them the chance to go deeper into areas they really connect with.

After a month of hard work and dedication, the school gym is finally transformed into a science heaven. Dozens of tables line the walls holding the students' poster boards, every single one covered with bright cardstock, catchy titles, and glossy pictures. Smartly dressed in their blazers and ties, the students meticulously look over their boards, anxiously waiting for their judges to come. As a man with a clipboard walks up to their projects, every student is scared for their life. First you explain what the project is all about. Next, the judge asks questions about the project. 'Do they plan on asking every question you don't know the answer to?' you wonder. The judge scribbles notes onto a sheet of paper and then moves onto the next project.

The rest of the afternoon consists of moms, dads, friends and neighbours, coming to your table and listening to you explain your project. Finally, after waiting for hours, the science teachers announce the winners. Certificates and ribbons are awarded to the first, second, and third place winners. The amount of time and effort that the students put into making their poster boards look visually appealing is also considered. The school art teachers award one student in each grade a visual presentation award. The science fair is a chance for the students to show all of their hard work, and also demonstrate that they are responsible enough to handle performing an entire experiment on their own.

Of course, the whole Somersfield Academy science fair would not be possible with out the dedication of the school's science teachers, Mrs. Perry and Mrs. Younge. They work for days looking over papers, helping students, organising information and so much more. They are the reason that the students at Somersfield can explore all of the great things there are to learn in this world.

For my own science fair, I determined the effect of age and gender on sense of smell. I had five male and female volunteers from three different age groups, 14-year olds, 30-40-year olds, and 70-90-year olds. I blindfolded them and had them smell three different peels from citrus fruits-lemons, limes, and oranges. The fruit peels had all been sitting for twenty-four hours, so their smell was not as strong. With the blindfolds on, each volunteer had to guess what fruit they smelled. After performing my experiment, I found that men have the worst sense of smell, and that as we get older our sense of smell starts to deteriorate making it harder to detect different smells. This being my last science fair, I am proud to say that I came 2nd place and won the visual presentation award. It shows that with hard work, you can achieve anything.

Originally published in The Royal Gazette