Youth Reporter Series
As part of BNS News' Youth Reporter Series, students attend events, interview participants, and share their observations through their own perspective. This article was written by student reporter Sonya Kara following her visit to the Toronto Science Fair at the University of Toronto Scarborough.
Article by Sonya Kara, Junior Reporter
On March 28th, the University of Toronto Scarborough hosted the annual Toronto Science Fair, where students from across the city came together to present their projects. As a junior reporter for BNS News, I was really glad I got the chance to be there and see everything in person.
Walking through the exhibition space, the first thing I noticed was how many different topics there were. There were projects on environmental science, engineering, health, physics, and even AI. Every table had something different, and you could tell how much time people put into their work.
A lot of the projects weren’t just experiments, they were trying to solve real problems. Some focused on pollution and climate change, while others looked at safety, technology, or health. It was interesting seeing how students used things like coding and data to support their ideas.
One of the most interesting parts of the fair was the awards and some of the top projects that stood out. “NAVASSIST AI: Navigation with Object Detection Artificial Intelligence” by Aidan Farrow and Mikhail Szugalew earned a Gold-level recognition. Their project focused on helping people navigate using AI, which could actually be useful in real life, especially for accessibility.
Another strong project was “Smart Blind Spot Detection for Cyclists” by Matei Gardea, which received a Silver-level award. With how busy roads can be, this idea could help improve safety for cyclists and prevent accidents.
There were also some environmental ideas that stood out. “Can Cotton Textiles Be Used to Clean Up Oil Spills” by Kiera Hui received a Bronze-level award, and it looked at a simple but potentially effective way to deal with oil spills. Another project, “Mitigating Ocean Pollution by Filtering Our Runaway Fibers” by Eunice Pu and Thisandi Male Pathirange, earned a Silver-level recognition and focused on reducing microplastic pollution.
Aside from the award winners, there were also a few projects I personally liked. One was called “Save Our Stuffies,” which stood out to me because I like stuffies too, and I’ve honestly never seen a project like that before. It was creative and different from most of the other ideas there.
There was also a project about coral reefs that had a really cool physical design. The model made it easier to understand what was happening and why it matters, which made it stand out.
What I liked most about the event wasn’t just the competition, but how people were actually interested in each other’s work. Judges and students were asking questions, giving feedback, and just talking about ideas. It felt more like people sharing what they worked on than just trying to win.
Overall, going to the Toronto Science Fair was a really cool experience. It showed me how students are taking ideas and turning them into real projects that connect to everyday problems, and it was interesting to see how different everyone’s approach was.