Two Grade 8 students from Admiral Collingwood Elementary School have great chemistry, and used it to take home a gold medal at the virtual Simcoe County Regional Science and Technology Fair earlier this month.
The Collingwood siblings’ project, called Can You Take the Heat, earned gold in the earth and environmental science category.
Simon Ruzylo and Stella Fry, both 13, say they enjoy working as a team.
“We work well together and thought it would fun to collaborate on a science project,” Ruzylo told CollingwoodToday.ca.
The duo’s project involved burning four different types of wood (maple, oak, willow and cedar) to determine which type of wood burned the hottest and the longest.
“We placed a beaker of water above an insulated can of burning wood and using a thermometer and a timer determined how long it took for the water to reach the boiling point and also for how long it held the boil,” explained Fry. “Then we graphed how long it took the water to boil and how long the boil lasted.”
According to their findings, Ruzylo said the wood that burned the hottest and the longest was oak, also achieving the boil in the shortest amount of time. The worst performing wood was the willow because it never got the water to the boiling point.
Due to COVID-19, this year's projects weren’t presented in person. Instead, Ruzylo and Fry did their entry-level presentation using Google Slides and the county-wide presentation on Zoom.
“It may have been more fun to present in person, it was still fun presenting virtually and we thought it was all really well-organized,” said Ruzylo.
The siblings say they were a bit shocked when they found out they won gold in their category.
“Then we were excited and proud of our accomplishment,” said Ruzylo.
Overall, the duo say they each enjoy science for different reasons.
“Science pushes my understanding of the world to a different level. The more I learn the more I become invested and excited,” said Ruzylo.
“I like science because it has allowed us to evolve to where we are today – who know knows where it will take us,” said Fry. “I haven’t done much science yet but what I have done I’ve enjoyed and am looking to learning about the different sciences in high school.”
When Fry grows up, she says she wants to be an engineer, but is undecided on her area of focus.
Ruzylo hasn’t decided yet on a sector.
“I want to do something that helps or inspires people – this would bring me great joy,” he said.
The siblings agree that science is an important field of study, with Fry saying it helps make a better world for everyone.
“Science is important,” said Ruzylo. “How else are we going to beat COVID?”
