Young scientists make Team Manitoba

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/06/2018 (2666 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three young scientists from southeast Winnipeg have showcased their talents on the national stage.

Emily Doyle and Vrinda Vyas from Holy Cross School in St. Boniface, and Jonah Norman from Christ the King School in St. Vital, were selected for Team Manitoba at the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) that was held this year in Ottawa from May 12 to 19.

The trio earned the right to represent the province at the prestigious event after placing in the top three at the Bison Regional Science Fair (BRSF) that was held earlier this spring, when Grade 4 to 8 students from 13 schools entered 177 projects.

The event garnered projects from numerous categories, including health, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sciences, microbiology and chemistry, animal science, plant science, physics and engineering, social sciences, and environmental sciences, officials say. Students were recognized with gold, silver, and bronze medals, special plaques, trophies, and other awards from various sponsoring organizations and dignitaries.

All expenses for the for the trio’s trip to the nation’s capital — including airfare, registration, accommodation, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) activities — were covered by sponsors, said Dr. Anju Bajaj, the fair’s co-ordinator and a science teacher at Holy Cross School.  

Bajaj, who lives in Royalwood, said it’s extremely encouraging that two of the three finalists that represented the province at the national event are girls, as “it’s very important to encourage girls in STEM.”

“Women’s contribution to history often gets overlooked in textbooks,” Bajaj said.

“Unless you took some women’s studies classes in college, you might think the whole world was built by men. That’s obviously not true. There have been many talented female scientists, engineers and innovators who changed the world for the better. But because men dominated for an awfully long time, they got to shape and write history. That’s gradually beginning to change.”

Prior to hosting BRSF, the St. Boniface-based school held the Holy Cross Science Fair, which was supported by the St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre and the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation to promote their partnership with the school’s Kids’ New Horizons science education program, Bajaj said, which directly engages students in the field of medical science research.

“Holy Cross School has demonstrated that it is a leader in providing opportunities for science students that promote scientific literacy. The school is continuously developing new programs fir young minds, who empowered by their knowledge, can bring vision and creative insights to the issues and opportunities on the global stage,” Bajaj said.