Westfield High School students Ian Coddington and Shawn Farnham explain how their Van De Graaff Electric Generator will create enough energy to send a bolt of lighting through the air. Safety regulations prevented the hands-on demonstration in the school gymnasium so a video of the generator at work was shown on a laptop computer. (Photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – Over 500 students from Westfield High School participated in the 13th annual Science Fair held on Thursday in the school’s gymnasium. All students enrolled in Honors and Advanced Placement level science classes were required to participate.
Participating students were required to complete a research plan over the summer, and throughout the school year create a hypothesis, pose a question, create a display, and make a journal. Some students worked in pairs, while others chose to work independently.
Over eighty professionals in the areas of engineering, biotechnology, physics, biology, ecology, chemistry, and behavioral science helped judge the 288 projects that were displayed.
Westfield High School Science teacher Renee Sweeney, who helped run the fair, said that although students learn about science in their classrooms every day, “this is a great opportunity for them to actually explore what doing science is all about”.
In previous years, Westfield High School has seen some of its students go as far as the International level of competition.
Austin Welker and Ben Pilgrim decided to focus their project on ways to remove rust after noticing some rust on a car and questioning ways to remove it cheaply. After doing their research, they tested a variety of different things including vinegar, Coca-Cola, lemon juice, and lemon juice with baking soda. After testing them out, they concluded that vinegar was the best solution. Both students were excited about their findings, because it will be useful to them in the future.
Principal Raymond Broderick also added that the science fair is a great for the students to participate in because it is “project-based learning” and “well-rounded”.
Art students were also involved in the science fair, where they showcased their science-inspired projects during the event. Students in both Art 3 and Art 4 classes were required to created an art installation project individually, although many partnered up to help one another out. Art teacher Donna Drewnowski said it was great for the students to show off their work and tell others about it. Many projects could be looked at through Chromadepth Technology glasses, which visually sort colors throughout the rainbow, giving the projects a 3D effect. Art students were excited to see people’s reaction and be able to bring both science and art together.
Receiving a cash award of $300, first place went to Robert LaFlamme and his project “Extracting Energy from Transitions in Water Phases”. Second Place went to Natalie Diltz whose project “Funneling Wind in Order to Maximize the Potential of Wind Turbines” received a cash award of $200. Caleigh Rockwal and Alexandra Helliwell took third place and received a cash award of $100 for their project “Female Athlete Triad: Calorie Consumption vs. Expenditure”.
In addition, the following projects will also proceed to the Region I Science Fair held on March 9 at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts: Timothy Kwarcinski’s and Sylvester Halama’s “Developing a Cost -Effective Digital Microscope Comparable to a Lab Grade Microscope”, Shannon Boley’s “Effects of an Administrator’s Prosody on Autistic Children”, Rachel Huntley’s “The Cover Up”, Dillon Sienko’s and Patrick Monette’s “Effects of Organically-Enriched Soil on Tagetes Tenuifolia Development”, Liam Flaherty’s “How Does Wind-Speed, Release Angle, and Temperature Affect the Distance of Ball Flight”, Brian Davis’s and Eric Shilyuk’s “The Effects of Various Cores on Electromagnetic Strength and Range”, Devon Kurtz’s “The Effects of Ethanol on Fuel for a Motor”, Annaise Seabury’s “Hot Tunes”, Maileen Kozak’s “The Use of “Gray-Water” in Everyday Life”, Olga Korobkov’s and Samantha Tuttle,’s “The Antibacterial Properties of Common Foods on the Growth of E-Coli”, Benjamin Parent’s “Semi Automated Carbon Sequestration”, and Robert Bernardara. “Wood vs. Food Waste Feedstock for Cellulosic Ethanol Production”.
The top projects from the Region I Fair will then compete for over $300,000 in scholarships and prizes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
