Dal hosts middle school science showdown

The organization is called Let’s Talk Science, but there was a lot more than talking going on at this year’s Halifax All-Science Challenge, hosted last week at the Student Union Building. There was yelling, screaming, dancing and celebrating of all stripes, not to mention wacky costumes and cool experiments — everything from building a functioning Canadarm to making use of an “Angry Birds” catapult.

Let’s Talk Science is a national organization that aims to get youth excited and engaged in science, technology, engineering and math. Its work depends on volunteers across the country, including at universities such as Dal.

Katie Kowarski, a marine biology student who will graduate with her bachelor of science degree later this month, is a Let’s Talk Science coordinator at Dal. She supports a team of departmental reps who organize outreach activities here in Halifax. In total, nearly 25 student volunteers helped make the All-Science Challenge possible.

“It’s really great to be able to bring the [middle school] students here to Dal,” said Kowarski. “Everything they study is extracurricular, above and beyond what they learn in the core classroom. It really gets them excited about the idea that science is a great thing to learn, and the teams are really high energy.”

Quizzical minds

The students who took part in the All-Science Challenge (sponsored by 3M) came from middle schools across HRM. Many of them made their own costumes and had creative names like the “Geek Squad,” the “Smarticle Particles” and the “Denominators.”

There were points awarded for spirit, but the core of the competition was in how well the students know their science. Questions during the quiz round were based on study materials the students were provided with ahead of time, covering a wide range of subjects: engineering, the environment, physics, earth, chemistry, math and space. (Many of the “space” questions were presented with video clips from astronaut Chris Hadfield.)

Some sample questions: What’s the term for unintentional capture of fish? (Bycatch) What’s an element’s atomic number equal to? (The number of protons) What word describes the combined mass of water found on, under and over the surface of a planet? (Hydrosphere)

“We started training at the end of March,” said Joseph Gilles student Zachary Allen, part of the “Jet Stream” team. “It’s really fun.”

Sporting lab coats, white fedoras and red shutter shades, the “Jet Stream” team ended up winning the spirit award for the day’s activities.

“It’s a lot of fun, meeting new friends, making our shirts,” said Morgain Oldfield of Five Bridges Junior High.

After the quiz show portion of the competition was complete, the teams moved onto the construction task, building a working Canadarm replica out of popsicle sticks. There were also activity rooms available throughout the day, including a “cool chemistry” room and a conservation room.

The day’s winners? The B.F.H.M. Team from Five Bridges Junior High. The Jet Stream Team was awarded the spirit award, with an honourable mention for the Hawthorne Elementary Atomic Enzymes for their enthusiasm throughout the day.