Kootenay girls join BC's brightest science students at Innovation Exploration
Two young Kootenay girls, of Trafalgar Junior Secondary in Nelson continue to ride the science wave. This time, their science fair projects have led them to the Innovation Exploration event in Victoria where they've joined some of the highest acheiving science students from around the province.
Miranda Sherell, and Emma Borhi got their start with strong showings at the SD20 Regional Science fair, organized cooperatively between School District 20 and KAST. The girls also received a partial sponsorship from KAST to attend the National Science Fair in Toronto last spring.
See below for links to more information on the local girl's projects as well as the Innovation Exploration event:
Miranda Sherell - Hidden Behind the Rainbow
Emma Borhi - Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (Cup)!
Astronomer, Researcher, App Designer – BC’s brightest science students explore their future
Victoria, BC – (October 25, 2011) – A 72” reflecting telescope, an enchanting undersea virtual observatory, an interactive plate tectonics workshop and a visit to the UVic Genome Proteomics Lab – just a highlight of the activities sixty-eight BC secondary school students experienced as part of BCIC’s Innovation Exploration (IE) program. The two-day program held on October 24 and 25 took place in Victoria for the first time, providing an incredible opportunity for secondary school students to explore post-secondary education and career options in the region.
“I congratulate BCIC and its partners for giving these talented students a chance to see first-hand the exciting careers a science education can lead to,” said Dr. Moira Stilwell, Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Research and Innovation. “What a great way to inspire our best and brightest young innovators from all over British Columbia – and to prepare them for rewarding futures in our knowledge economy.”
Dr. Stilwell was joined by members of government, academia and industry to recognize the accomplished youth at the Opening Dinner held at the Royal BC Museum last night.
Over the course of the program, students had the opportunity to visit a number of Victoria’s leading edge science and technology centers including Victoria Advanced Technology Council, Vancouver Island Technology Park, Centre of the Universe (Astronomy Interpretive Centre), The University of Victoria, and the Institute for Ocean Sciences.
“It has been a pleasure working with our partners in Victoria, a vibrant and growing tech community, to deliver this unique program to BC’s young innovators,” said Mark Payne, Acting CEO of BCIC. “This was a great opportunity for students to learn directly from Victoria’s science and tech leaders and decide for themselves what path they want to follow.”
Among the group of students this year was Jacquie Gulevich, a Grade 12 student from North Peace Secondary in Fort St. John who spoke Monday evening at Innovation Exploration’s Opening Dinner. Jacquie’s project focused on harvesting of cyanobacteria from a local lake to create biofuel which earned her $3,300 at the 2011 Canada-Wide Science Fair. Earlier this year, she also earned a $4,000 BCIC Young Innovator Scholarship and another $25,000 as the winner of the Province of BC’s Year of Science "Choose Science, Go Far, Win Big" contest.
Created in 1990, Innovation Exploration provides BC Regional Science Fair winners (who represent BC and the Yukon at the Canada-Wide Science Fair and International Fair) the opportunity to explore the many post-secondary and career possibilities available in science and technology. These young scientists, innovators and budding entrepreneurs also have the opportunity to meet and network with leaders in BC's science and technology community.
For more information and photos about Innovation Exploration, click here.