Patience key for science fair student

TRURO - After accidentally shocking himself numerous times and staying up all night for affirmative results, Andrew Crowe was thrilled to officially enter the science fair Monday.
The Grade 7 student at Truro Junior High School submitted his science project, electroplating, into the fair. Electroplating is the process in which copper is deposited onto an item by an electrical current.
"I like to find out stuff by myself and science and English are my favourite subjects," explained Andrew of his desire to enter the fair. "For electroplating, I saw it on television and wondered if I could do it with household materials. I just wanted to know I was capable of doing it."
After researching electroplating, Andrew gathered a six-volt battery, glass jar, household liquids, copper wire, alligator clamps and items to plate. He randomly chose items, such as dimes and bolt nuts, to test by hooking a positive terminal to a copper tube and hooking the negative terminal to the selected item and then placing them in a liquid solution, such as Windex.
Then he waited ... and waited ... and waited to see which items could be electroplated.
"It could be very frustrating to find items that could be plated. I waited five hours, practically all night, one time to watch a dime plate."
When it did, Andrew decided to continue.
"Near the start I wanted to give up because I went through items that weren't working and it took hours on average to know for sure," said Andrew.
"I'm proud of myself ... I'll do the fair next year but I don't have any ideas yet for it," said the first-time science fair participant.
"You need to have strong creativity, an original idea and a lot of patience," he said, laughing.
When asked if Andrew looks to anyone for scientific inspiration, he immediately said Albert Einstein.
"Because he invented a lot and created a lot of theories."

What: Most junior high schools have students participating in science fairs throughout Chignecto-Central Regional School Board.
Winners from TJHS going to regionals, March 26 and 27 in Truro:
Grade 6
Rumana Rafiq, Less is More
Grade 7
First place: Ana Medina, La Pollution Dair; and Zach Mawhinney, Piezo Power
Second place: Christian Cameron, It's Just a Game!
Third Place: Jessica Hepworth
and Shawnacey Labelle, Beauty or Life?
Grade 8
First place: Nicholas Lynch, The Laser Wire Circuit
Second Place: Justin Currie, Oeuf Crabe Dans Un Lab
Third Place: Hassen Syed, How Household Chemicals Affect Plants
Honorable mention: Emma Gillam, Decomposition du Peroxide d'Hydrogene; and Neil MacKay, Le Poisson Momie.
Grade 9
First place: Farina Rafiq, Spicy-Biotics
Second place: Brett Meech and Lucy Fisher, Time To Go Green
Third place: T.J. Wison, Things That Make You Go...Yuck!
Honorable mention: Patrick Mahoney, Engine Antifreeze Comparison
Nationals: Regional winners advance to the Canada Wide Science Fair in Ottawa this May.


mchiasson@trurodaily.com