Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

RANKIN INLET - Some of the brightest young minds from across the region attended the Kivalliq Regional Science Fair at Maani Ulujuk high school in Rankin Inlet earlier this month.

Teal Kreuger, a Grade 10 student from Jonah Amitnaaq secondary school in Baker Lake, took top honours for the second year in a row for his work on the Northern problem of a frozen stink pipe.

Kreuger designed three thermal electric systems to keep a home's sewage vent pipe free of ice in 2006.

This year he expanded on the project by developing a prototype to install in his family's home.

Kreuger conducted several trials to calibrate his system throughout the winter, and concluded that his innovation could have practical and commercial applications.

Grade 7 student Mary Lou Angidlik of Rankin took silver for her work to determine which traditional Arctic medicines work best to stop bacteria growth.

The topic of global warming played a major role in the third- and fourth-place projects.

Grade 10 students Appolina Manilak and Samantha Tutanuak of Rankin took third for examining how global warming affects the growth of Arctic willows.

Nanaouq Tanuyak and Douglas Aggark, Grade 10 students from Chesterfield Inlet, took fourth for looking at the amount of greenhouse gases Kivalliq power stations produce annually.

It is expected that Kreuger, Angidlik, Tanuyak and Aggark will represent the Kivalliq at the Canada-wide Science Fair from May 10-20 in Truro, N.S.

Rankin student Angnaluaaq Friesen enjoyed participating in the fair.

She said the idea for her science project came from a conversation with her sister.

"We were chatting in the room and she said I should see the bacteria in the water with Sea Monkeys and that gave me the idea to look at different types of water," said Friesen.

"I compared the amount of bacteria in tap water, brine shrimp and bottled water."

Lee Ann Tungilik and Abby Haqpi of Repulse Bay studied a problem they hope never surfaces in Repulse.

The Grade 10 students looked at how crystal meth affects the human body.

"The drug is not a problem in Repulse, but we wanted to learn about it before it gets here," said Tungilik.

"There are people who have a problem with marijuana in our region, and their families really suffer because money is often spent on drugs instead of food.

"Crystal meth would be worse news for the Kivalliq because it's a lot stronger and far more addictive.

"We hope we never see crystal meth here because of all the misery it causes."