CD study one of many science fair entries
Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Apr 06/01) - A teenager has some CDs he doesn't listen to any more, and maybe hasn't quite outgrown an urge to bust things up.
The mix could be ingredients of an uncertain future, but for Chris Fournier perhaps it's a sign he'll have a brilliant career.
The Sir John Franklin high school student decided to test the durability of CDs and CD-ROMs and package the results as a science fair project.
That's how a science fair idea can start, although today many students just type the words "science fair" into an Internet search engine and instantly access thousands of ideas.
That doesn't take much creativity, but teacher and fair organizer Bonita Tucker says the practice gives students many more choices that can fuel innovation.
"It's the same thing as going to the library and pulling out science fair books only the Internet gives them a wider base to choose from."
As for Fournier, he wrote down what happened after hitting 'play' on his computer CD player, but not before scratching, mangling and drilling holes in the disks.
He put some out in -40 C weather and others on heat vents.
His conclusion? Disks are more likely to be ruined if the label is scratched. Some flake off by themselves, he said.
Fournier's was one of 85 science fair projects that were showcased April 2 at Range Lake North school.
They included the top three projects from all Grade 4-9 classes in Yellowknife area schools.
A look into whether people have a sixth sense was another project made by Lisa Radicchi and Katie Pardy.
They wanted to find out if people can somehow sense others staring at them from behind.
"Our conclusions were not consistent," Lisa said with some disappointment.
The partners tested 20 people 10 times each, using other people to sometimes stare from behind.
Subjects were right about sensing someone staring from behind over 61 per cent of the time.
Several science fair participants decided to be consumer watchdogs, with entries concluding that Dial antibacterial soap cleans better, Oxypads are the best acne treatment, and Chips Ahoy contain more chocolate chips than other brands.
