As part of a computer science assignent at Carlton High School,Vraj Patel and Carter designed a prosthetic arm. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Great achievements

Regional youth science fair showcases advances in health and farming

Mar 27, 2025 | 5:00 PM

Referring to a robotic arm named “Fred”, Vraj Patel says he hopes his work may inspire the health industry to make affordable products for the people who need it most.

The blue device that was hooked up to a computer was one of over a dozen projects on display Thursday at the Prince Albert and Northeast Regional Science Fair.

Patel, a Grade 11 student at Carlton Comprehensive High School, and his partner Carter Lysak, were tasked to build something that would help people and discovered there was a gap in affordable prosthetics.

“So prosthetic arms are extremely expensive around a minimum $40,000 to start off with. We built this robot arm and a robot hand, in a range of maybe $1,000 to $2,000,” he said.

The cheap materials used for the science project, that are both durable and easy to work with, were provided through the high school. Patel, who is from India, said there’s a lot of people in need but don’t have the financial means.

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“It would even be great if this inspires someone to make something like this and further refine it. That’s the goal at the end of the day is to get something for people to use that need the most,” he said.

A young student discusses her “Immunity” project with interested persons. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Across the room, Mya Shewchuk and Eve Kobelski, who attend Redwing school, designed a new all-natural bug spray using just essential oils.

“We made this because bug spray smells bad. It’s sticky, you have to shower after using it. So we decided to make an alternative with essential oils,” she said, adding they used tea tree, peppermint and lavender.

Noting it was difficult to test during the winter months, she said she brought it with her on a family trip to Mexico during February break.

“At first my family wasn’t very interested in putting it on, because they didn’t know if it would work or not, but I’m sure in the summer they will probably use it, too,” she said.

Mya Shewchuk and Eve Kobelski (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

Hannah Wilson and Brielle Zalewski studied bovine hearts. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

Having been raised on a farm, Hannah Wilson confessed she’s always been really interested in cows and wanted to see if the age of the heart matters and if the feed they were on affects the cow.

“We learned that the age of the bovine does affect the health of the cow. The older the bovine is, the bigger and fatter the heart will be, and the younger the bovine is, the less fat it will have on it.”

James Cook, a Grade 8 student at Christopher Lake school, set out to determine what is the ideal time of day to catch a fish.

“I had loads of fun. I got to miss school, too, to go fishing,” he said.

Through his research, Cook learned Walleye bite best from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and would pick up again from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. On the other hand, pike bite from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 or 7 p.m.

“But for walleye, you can see that they were biting from that 7 to 7:30 a.m. range, but it will change throughout the year because right now, the sun is going to be rising at 7:40. But in December, it’ll rise at like 8:40, so that means you’re gonna wanna go out a little earlier or a little later.”

(Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

For the past three years, the regional science fair has been hosted by the Prince Albert Science Center at the Gateway Mall. Chair Sandra Williams said as a science center they want to promote everything and anything science-based.

“And what better way to showcase that other than a science fair, because that’s what this is all about. It’s hands-on learning, hands-on knowledge sharing,” she said, while acknowledging how impressive all the projects were.

“It’s just amazing to see them take risks and speak to perfect strangers about these projects that they’re passionate about, these these these great topics that they’ve either researched or they’ve come across in their daily lives and it’s just a wonderful thing to see the passion behind that.”

Final results:

The two overall winners are both in grade 8 and will now take their science fair projects to Youth Science Canada: Canada Wide Science Fair in Fredericton New Brunswick May 31 to June 7, 2025.

First place: Daycee Flying Buffalo: Innovation Project called Horizons and Roots. School: West Central Public School

Second place: Olivia Gorder: Experiment: Hydrogens Water Conservation. School: Red Wing Public School.

Daycee (left) and Olivia. (Submitted/ Sandra Williams)

–Grade 5

3rd Place– Sophie Jacobi- Christopher Lake School- How Blue Light Affects Your Sleep

2nd Place– Aubrielle Booth, Claire Lauder & Emma Verbonac- Shellbrook Elementary- Plant Growth Under Different Lights

1st Place– Kayla Carnegie- Christopher Lake School- How Does Different Types of Music Affect Your Heart Rate

Grade 6

3rd Place- Kara Watt & Nevaeh Henderson- West Central School- Candles vs. Headaches

2nd Place- Seth Killaby- Christopher Lake School- Insulation Project

1st Place- Zoey Peterson- Cats vs. Cat Toys

Grade 7

3rd Place- Ella Fendelet- Christopher Lake School- Harvesting Fog

2nd Place- Ashtyn King- West Central School- Necklace Balancer

1st Place- Jacob Schlamp- Christopher Lake School- Sustainable and Alternative Cooking Methods

Grade 8

3rd Place- Milana Lishchenko- West Central School- Microwaving Seeds

*2nd Place- Olivia Gorder- Red Wing School- Hydrogels Water Conservation

**1st Place- Daycee Flying Buffalo- West Central School- Horizons and Roots

High School

1st Place- Vraj Patel & Carter Lysak- Carlton Comprehensive High School- FRED the Robotic Hand

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Blue Sky: @nigelmaxwell.bsky.social