Northbrook Students Advance To State Science Competition

Press release from Northbrook School District 28:

May 5, 2021

Seventeen NBJH students will compete in the Illinois Junior Academy of Science State Competition next week after advancing from the regional science fair. Three 8th-grade students received Best in Category awards at regionals.

The students developed their projects in a semester-long independent research class where they learn the basics of scientific research methods and apply it to their own interests. Recently retired science teacher Pam Mendelson, Mark Frye and Amber Paull taught the program this year.

This year’s competitions are being held virtually with each student recording their presentation for judges to review. Twenty-five students competed in the regional fair. Receiving the Best in Category honors were Danielle Yakhnis for “The Effect of Music on Plant Growth” (Botany); Mackenzie Love’s project was “Leaching Into Our Life: A Experiment on Plastic Containers” (Materials Science) and Caitlin Schuster’s project was “How Do Different Colors of Light Affect the Daphnia’s Heart Rate” (Zoology).

“We are extremely proud of the efforts of our ISR students this year. This Independent Science Research class is a great way for kids to apply the scientific method to a research question of their choosing. It provides them the opportunity to problem-solve, conduct experiments and analyze data in a real-world setting. We are thankful to be able to offer this course to so many students each year, and it has become such a cherished and valuable student experience for decades,” said Principal Dr. Scott Meek.

Students advancing to state are: 8th graders Ellie Farber, Mackenzie Love,

Zoe Saperstein, Haley Schaff, Matthew Wincek, Danielle Yakhnis and Stephanie Zhou.

7th Graders are: Emma Fraczek, Clare Gartz, Maggie Gjermano, Sarah Goldberg, Arpi Kirakosian, Emma Lee, Molly McAnally, Kate Nelson, Emma Noll and Emily Rogers.

This press release was produced by Northbrook School District 28. The views expressed here are the author's own.