Each year, students in grades 6, 7, and 8 have the chance to participate in the Science Fair, an annual event that enables them to apply the scientific skills they’ve acquired throughout the school year to explore topics of interest beyond their regular studies. They design and conduct their own investigations, then draw conclusions and evaluate their findings, all adhering to clear scientific principles.
The Science Fair showcases these projects, allowing students to present their research findings to peers, teachers, and a jury that selects the best projects.
Jennifer Taylor, Head of Science, shares more about the students’ project work and the learning experience provided by the Science Fair.
Jenny, how would you describe this event that students love, and what is the learning objective behind it?
The Science Fair is eagerly awaited by all students, regardless of their passion for science. What excites them is the opportunity to choose their own hypothesis as the starting point for their experiment. This means that the project topic is chosen based on their interests, hobbies, or passions. After selecting the question they want to answer, they determine the steps needed to conduct their investigation and find the answer.
Beyond the enjoyment of the experiments, our learning objective is to help students develop their scientific investigation skills. This includes identifying variables and using them to plan a thorough investigation, presenting data in various ways, using data to formulate conclusions, and evaluating their own projects.
How did the students prepare their projects?
The more than 150 students participating in the Science Fair spent nearly 4 weeks preparing their projects, which they presented to their peers, teachers, and the jury. They worked during their Science classes with their teachers—Joy Săftoiu, Andrei Dăscălescu, Nadina Negru, Manuela Nae, Ahmet Salgur, Dharmesh Chohan, Gillian Carrol and Andrei Vasiliu —as well as outside of class, sometimes during breaks, in the hallways, and even during lunch.
Their dedication and desire to create projects that are both scientifically robust and visually appealing represent, for me, a significant achievement. It clearly shows that the students are genuinely interested in what they are studying and are enjoying the process.
What was the atmosphere like on the day of the fair, which projects won, and who was on the jury?
The Science Fair day was filled with excitement and anticipation. Each team set up their own presentation stand, and the students eagerly presented their projects to everyone who visited.
The Arena transformed into a vibrant scientific exhibition, and just walking among the stands and reading the research topics was impressive due to the wide variety of subjects the students chose.
Topics included “What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh for longer?”, “How does pressure affect the way a ball bounces?”, “What is the best design for buildings in earthquake-prone areas?”, and “What bridge shape is the strongest?”, among many others.
All projects were reviewed and evaluated by the jury members: Ștefan Balint, an Avenor graduate passionate about science and currently a student at Cork University in Ireland, Teodora, a 12th-grade student and former Science Fair winner, and Robert Rincu, a PhD candidate and researcher in organic chemistry.
The winning projects are:
6th Grade – “Which type of natural sugar is best for yeast growth?” – project by Nadina and Vlad in 6 Alfa.
7th Grade – “How do impurities affect the growth of copper sulfate crystals?” – project by Sonia and Katia in 7 Alfa.
8th Grade – “How does the length of a guitar string affect the frequency of the sound produced?” – project by Sofia and Mara in 8 Delta.
Additionally, there were two special categories – Student Choice and Best of the Best.
The winning projects in these categories are:
Student Choice – “Does gender affect the perception of smell?” – project by Tudor, Maria and Stefan in 8 Delta.
Best of the Best – “Does temperature change the viscosity of honey?” – project by Mara, Cristi and Izabela in 7 Delta.
I congratulate all the students for their passion and dedication over the past few weeks and for the outstanding results they achieved. Each project demonstrated rigorous research and great creativity.
I am already looking forward to next year’s Science Fair!
