Science Education News (SEN) Journal 2017 Volume 66 Number 4 December 2017 | Page 19

ASSOCIATION NEWS
2017 Young Scientist Awards (continued)
Primary Young Scientist
Sponsored by the School of Education, Australian Catholic
University, the Primary Young Scientist is presented to the best
overall 3-6 project
Nicholas Hubbard, Castle Cove Public School, Does fabric
softener make sleepwear more flammable?
Lila Moore, Sapphire Coast Anglican School, is receiving her
Broadcom MASTERS International Award from keynote speaker
Professor Anna Moore.
The platypus is a unique and iconic Australian animal. Lila
explored the Brogo River system in the Bega Valley to see if the
state of the land adjoining the river bank had any effect on platypus
activity. Areas consisting of near-pristine native vegetation had
more platypus sightings tha n areas with cleared farmland.
Nicholas Hubbard, Castle Cove Public School, is receiving
his Primary Young Scientist Award from Kerry Sheehan, NESA
Science Inspector
2018 Rural Young Scientist Awards
Thanks to the generosity of the Sapphire Foundation, the inaugural
Rural Young Scientist Awards were announced this year. They
target rural students and teachers, rewarding all projects from
rural areas that score a 4 or 5 according to the judging rubrics,
from a shared prize pool of $4000.
The aim of this investigation was to determine if fabric softener
makes fabric more prone to catching on fire. Using extensive
testing, Nicholas found that there was a very significant difference
between the fabric not washed with fabric softener to the fabric
that was washed in softener. Fabric that had been washed with
softener burned on average 20s faster!
One lucky teacher from a rural school was rewarded for her
implementation of Young Scientist Awards in her school through
selection as the recipient of a Rural Young Scientist Teacher
Award. This teacher will join the ISEF team as a chaperone of the
winning rural students to ISEF next year.
2018 Broadcom MASTERS International
Delegate
One student with a top entry from Years 7-8 will travel to Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, USA, to the Broadcom MASTERS International in
May 2018. The selected student must be a prize-winner, a good
communicator and fit the age requirements.
Winner of the Rural Young Scientist Teacher Award: Jenny
Stephens, MET Wagga Wagga Campus (now teaching at
Kildare Catholic College)
Lila Moore, Sapphire Coast Anglican College, Platypus of
the Brogo River System, NSW, – Riparian vegetation links to
population status.
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 66 NO 4