Junior entries best at fair

Press, 29 June 1989, Page 7

Junior entries best at fair

By

NIGEL MALTHUS

Third and fourth formers stole the show when the Canterbury Westland Science Fair opened yesterday at the Christchurch Town Hall. The fair’s 161 entries include displays on such hot topics as cold fusion, the “greenhouse effect,” and lead pollution; homemade working displays such as a nitrogen laser and an electric guitar; and experiments on the effects of fertiliser or different coloured light on plant growth. The chief judge, Dr Errol Wood, of the Wool Research Organisation, said that while the fair continued to go from strength to strength, it was the juniors who excelled this year, with the senior entries being disappointing. One judge commented that one junior project was as good as an M.Sc. project he had supervised last year, said Dr Wood. The result was that only one senior appeared in the top four over-all placings.

The over-all winner was

a St Andrew’s College fourth-former, David Craig, with an original research project into the best size of spring for a ballpoint pen. David’s project involved cutting various amounts off each spring, stretching them back to the required length, then testing them. Cutting off too many loops, he found, weakened the springs, but cutting off six loops was just right, giving much the same performance with only two-thirds the wire used.

David’s display pointed out that the manufacturers could redesign their springs for savings in production and transport costs, and to help conserve the world’s resources.

His project was rated highly because it was simple and well executed, said Dr Wood.

Second and third places went to two Rangiora High School pupils, Christopher Lind, with a study of the dietary habits of North Canterbury feral pigeons; and John Kean, with a study of the distribution of ferns.