Saturday 19th March 2011 marked the close of another exciting year of the NIHERST/NGC Science Whizz Competition. The top “Whizz Kids” of 2010 walked away with prizes and the admiration of their peers, parents and patrons after keen competition in the three categories of “Illustrate, Innovate and Investigate” , which were staged over the period September 2010 – March 2011.

The competition, now in its 11th year, attracted the participation of 147 students, entering as teams and individuals and saw the first-time participation of two schools – Speyside High School and Lakshmi Girls’ High School. Students vied for over $30,000.00 in prizes sponsored by the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC).

Science concepts come alive

The traditional format of the competition – the “Illustrate” category – remained popular among students and this year the entries which made it to the finals covered topics such as Atmospheric Pressure, Combustion and even Transmutation.

The winner at the Senior level was Ms. Hematee Sookdeo whose presentation entitled “Ms Oodles Laboratory” was very well executed, with the right balance of drama, humour and accurate scientific explanations of expansion and contraction of air with temperature changes. Ms Sookdeo represented Brazil High School, traditionally a top contender in the dramatic competition.

The First Prize winner at the Junior level was Mr. Mackadis Smith, a student of Holy Cross College, Arima, whose presentation was “Pressure Yolk”. This sometimes humorous skit was based on Mr. Smith’s determination to prove to his relatives his ability to slip a hard-boiled egg through the narrow mouth of a glass bottle, of course using atmospheric pressure.

A showcase of creativity

In the “Innovate” category, seven teams of students took on the design challenge of constructing a roller coaster track from foam pipe insulation. The students needed to develop a design which would incorporate a ‘loop-the-loop’ arrangement that could enable a marble to navigate the entire track without falling off.

While primarily focussed on this functional design challenge, students also showcased their tremendous creativity by developing prototypes which were impressive in their artistry as well as their names. From “Martian Waltz” to “Pink Explosion” and “Marked for Death” to “Thriller”, each demonstrated a truly unique design. The prototypes were fully functional as witnessed by the attendees at the Awards Ceremony who got a chance to try out these roller coaster rides. The top winners in this category were teams from Holy Cross College and St. Joseph’s Convent, St. Joseph.

Shades of SBA

In the third category of competition – “Investigate” – students were given an experiment to conduct. They had to write a report based on the results of the investigation and then make a verbal presentation. Though this category most closely mirrors the format of secondary school laboratory science, it attracted the fewest number of entrants. There were just two finalists in the category and at the end of the competition a special prize was awarded to Ms Precious St. Clair from El Dorado East Secondary School for her investigation of the viscosity of water with an added substance (sugar).

Continued commitment

At the Awards Ceremony, students were encouraged to maintain their interest and ‘stay in science’ – a message which was echoed in the remarks delivered by Ms. Althea Maund, NSC Science Advisor and co-ordinator of the Science Whizz Competition, and Mr. Mario Singh, Community Relations Officer of the NGC. Mr. Singh reminded students that science and technology (S&T) was the base not only of our development but also our sustainability. He noted that apart from enabling the NGC to become a leader in the field of natural gas management, S&T also provided the knowledge and tools for humans to resolve the effects and mitigate the impacts of natural disasters such as the three-pronged disasters of the earthquake, tsumani and compromised nuclear reactor cooling system in Japan.

Stating that he recognised ‘the future’ in the children gathered at the ceremony, who were interested in and excited about science, he vocalised his company’s continued support of the Science Whizz competition and other programmes of NIHERST and local institutions that demonstrated this commitment to the country’s future by encouraging the pursuit of science education by young people.

Ms. Althea Maund delivered remarks on behalf of the NIHERST President, Mrs. Maureen Manchouck, and underscored the institute’s commitment to this effort through the staging of the Science Whizz Competition over the past 11 years. She hinted that a similar activity was expected to be part of the NSC’s plans for the future.

All speakers on the programme, including Mrs. Celeste Chariandy who delivered the Judges’ Comments and Ms Simone Le Gendre who delivered the Vote of Thanks, acknowledged the contribution of teachers and other mentors from participating schools. Mr. Alwyn Gordon, Master of Ceremonies thanked each mentor individually for the interest shown and support given to all finalists. Indeed, it was a great year for the Science Whizz Competition, and we look forward to greater things to come from the Whizz Kids of T&T!

View Picture Gallery

Written: March 2011