Junior Einsteins

If knowledge is power, then some Stratford High School students must be operating on all cylinders, with six students bringing home eight prizes from last month's Fonterra Taranaki Science and Technology Fair.

Head of science Richard Armond is impressed with the work done by the students, who are all in extension classes for the subject.

He wasn't surprised to be told of their successes as "these were the guys who had an idea early on, they were well organised and planned it well".

Students, who worked in pairs, chose their own hypotheses which they then set out to prove. "Being able to chose their own topic, means that they are more engaged with their learning," Richard says.

Of the eight prizes awarded to Stratford High School, five, including the Methanex NZ Trophy for the best Exhibit in Year 9 and 10, were won by Year nine duo of Kristy Smith and Janika Hey.

They were inspired by Kristy's visit to a house in Nelson made of straw bales. "I was surprised by how warm it was," says Kristy, "it made us wonder if commercial insulation is the best way to reduce heat loss".

Kristy and, Janika, titled their investigation "Can you take the heat", with the aim of determining which material is the most effective at reducing heat loss.

Janika says that choosing "an interesting topic" is the key to a successful science fair project, along with "working with someone you get on with easily".

Kristy and Janika also won the Dow Agrosciences Trophy as runner-up in the fair which saw them competing against all the exhibitors.

Braeden Harrison and Willem Ratu, also Year 9 students, used their interest in basketball as inspiration for their hypothesis. Their project, "Do you even bounce?" which received a merit award, investigated the difference varying the pressure range in a basketball would make to its performance.

Year 10 students, Tyla van den Beuken and Caleb Gibbons, took second place in the Year 10 category, as well as receiving the NZ Baking Industry Research Trust prize for the best entry encompassing bread or other products. Their project, "Great Globs of Gluten", investigated how different types of flour influenced the pliability of dough.