Vancouver Science Fair arrives at Langara

The Vancouver District Science Fair took over the Langara gym March 7 as students from grades seven to 12 competed for a spot at regionals.

Langara has facilitated the event for two consecutive years and coordinator Jeanna Yu couldn’t be happier with the way things went this year.

“We’re really grateful that Langara’s hosting it, they have provided us lots of support,” Yu said.

Yu coordinated the fair for the first time this year and while there have been a few hiccups, the six-person committee helped her along the way, she said.

Students aim to make it to regionals

More than 200 students from 18 schools attended for a chance to progress to the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair. New and returning competitors took part and emotions were either running high or not at all.

Marko Miletic, 16, from Eric Hamber Secondary School, competed last year with his Tesla coil model which earned him a trip to regionals. This year he established a possible solution for problems related to pollination with his robotic bee.

“It’s likely that in two years there will be no wild bees left, most of them will be in captivity or dead, so this project is aiming to offer a solution,” Miletic claimed.

However, Miletic had reservations about his project this year. “I feel less prepared than last year but it’s a good idea and [judges] like these environmental projects.”

Judges come from diverse backgrounds

Judges for the district event are from local companies, industry labs and university students. Returning judge Kimberly Gulevich, an environmental engineering student currently at UBC, participated in science fairs in her early years and always likes to see what students bring to the table.

She said she looks for passion in projects. “I think that’s a big part of being able to go forward,” Gulevich said, adding that whether or not students do the project by themselves could also affect her judging.

Miletic will be heading to the regionals again despite his concerns about his project. That fair will be hosted by UBC April 10 to 12.

Check out this video to find out more about what the judges were looking for and how the students were feeling.

Reported by Madelyn Forsyth