Baker Lake (May 29/06) - A bronze medal to a student from Victor Sammurtok school in Chesterfield Inlet led the Kivalliq to its strongest showing ever at the Canada-wide Science Fair.

Jonah Amitnaaq secondary school Grade 9 student Teal Kreuger of Baker Lake, shown here displaying the gold medal he won for his web-page design at the regional Skills Canada competition in Iqaluit this past month, added an honourable mention at the 2006 Canada-wide Science Fair to his impressive academic credentials earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Alanna Kelly

The national event was held in Chicoutimi, Que., earlier this month.

Shawna Sammurtok won bronze, $300 cash and a $1,000 entrance scholarship to the University of Western Ontario for her project, Whose coat is warmer?

The purpose of Sammurtok's project was to determine which type of hunting parka provides the most warmth by examining caribou, polar bear and seal skins, as well as store-bought material.

The project showed parkas made of caribou skin to be the warmest.

Honourable mentions

Sammurtok wasn't the only Kivalliq student to meet with success at the event.

Germaine Ekwalak and Alex Kaludjak of Inuglak school in Whale Cove won an honourable mention and $100 in the senior physical and mathematical sciences category for her project, Are Skins Warmer Than Boots?

The project showed caribou skin, once again, to be the warmest. Only one member of the team, Ekwalak, could make the trip because the committee could not afford to send both.

Teal Kreuger from Jonah Amitnaaq school in Baker Lake won an honourable mention and $100 in the intermediate engineering category for his project, Solving the stink pipe problem.

The project looked at integrating several different technologies to solve the Northern problem of the frozen stink pipe.

Jonah Amitnaaq teacher Bill Cooper said the Kivalliq delegation represented the region's science community well at the national event.

He said the successful efforts of Sammurtok, Kreuger and Ekwalak have science teachers and students across the region beaming with pride.

"The students deserve our highest accolades for their work, but they couldn't have done it on their own," said Cooper.

"A thank you goes out to all the teachers who put in countless hours preparing the students for the national competition.

"As well, thank yous go to Kristen Sawyers from Inuglak school in Whale Cove and Chad Clifford from Jonah Amitnaaq school in Baker for their time, energy and spirit in leading this delegation to such impressive results."