Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 – 1543) Was Born

Nicolaus Copernicus was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically-based heliocentric cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe. His epochal book, On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the Scientific Revolution.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: A Visit to the Solar System
Subject: Astronomy
Grade level: Elementary School - Grades 4-6
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2008)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2008
Description: Main topics: the sun, inner planets, asteroid belt, outer planets, kuiper belt, solar system timeline, exploration timeline.

Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2008/wang8c2/

Darwin Day 200

Charles Robert Darwin realised and demonstrated that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection. The fact that evolution occurs became accepted by the scientific community and much of the general public in his lifetime, while his theory of natural selection forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory. In modified form, Darwin’s scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, providing logical explanation for the diversity of life.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: Evolution of Enzymes
Subject: Biology
Grade level: High School - Grades 10-12
Academic Level: Advanced
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Medium
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2004)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2004
Description: Directed evolution of alkane degrading enzymes for improved activity on natural and high molecular weight substrates.

Link: http://www.virtualsciencefair.org/2004/lavr4v0/public_html/

World Cancer Day 2009

World Cancer Day is marked on 4 February to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. It is led by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), a global consortium of more than 280 cancer-fighting organizations in over 90 countries.
The campaign emphasizes that 43% of cancers can be prevented through these healthy behaviors:

• Provide a smoke-free environment for children
  
• Be physically active, eat a balanced, healthy diet, and avoid obesity
  
• Learn about vaccines for virus-related liver and cervical cancers
  
• Avoid over-exposure to the sun

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: Everything About Skin Cancer
Subject: Medicine
Grade level: Elementary School - Grades 4-6
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2006)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2006
Description: Main topics: our skin; types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squarmous cell carcinoma (SSC), malignant melanoma; skin cancer prevention.

Link: http://www.virtualsciencefair.org/2006/pare6b2/

Groundhog Day 2009

Groundhog Day is an annual holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada on which if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If on the other hand, it is sunny and the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks. The holiday, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog. Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: Snow, Sun and Sky in Saskatoon
Subject: Meteorology
Grade level: Primary School - Grades K-3
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2006)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2006
Description: Main topics: snow flakes, objects in the sky, the Sun, photos, drawings, quizz.
Link: http://www.virtualsciencefair.org/2006/bamy6a2/

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2009

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which occurs on January 27, is the universal commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 on 1st November 2005 during the 42nd plenary session to mark the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and the end of the Holocaust which resulted in the annihilation of 6 million European Jews by the Nazi regime. January 27 is the date, in 1945, when the largest Nazi death camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau (Poland) was liberated by Soviets troops.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: Phrenology in America
Subject: Psychology
Grade level: High School Grades 10-12
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Missouri Western State University
Year: 1999
Description: Phrenology (from Greek: "mind"; and logos, "knowledge") is a defunct field of study, once considered a science, in which the personality traits of a person were determined by "reading" bumps and fissures in the skull. Developed by German physician Franz Joseph Gall around 1800, the discipline was very popular in the 19th century. Phrenology was practiced by some scientists promoting racist ideologies, including Nazism. They used phrenological claims, among other biological evidence, as a scientific basis for Aryan racial superiority. (source: wikipedia)
Link: http://clearinghouse.missouriwestern.edu/manuscripts/83.asp

Martin Luther King Day 2009

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a United States holiday marking the birthdate of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15. It is one of three United States federal holidays to commemorate an individual person. King was the chief spokesman of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. He was assassinated in 1968.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: Does Your Hair Colour Affect Your Thinking Skills?
Subject: Psychology
Grade level: Middle School Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2006)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2006
Description: Brunette and blonde male and female school kids were tested by thinking skills questionars. Results were compared, graphed and analyzed.
Link: http://www.virtualsciencefair.org/2006/loth6b2/

International Year of Astronomy 2009

The International Year of Astronomy is a year-long celebration of astronomy, taking place in 2009 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei and the publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia nova in the 17th century. The Year was declared by the 62nd General Assembly of the UN. A global scheme, laid out by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), has also been endorsed by UNESCO - the UN body responsible for Educational, Scientific and Cultural matters. This initiative is an opportunity for the citizens of Earth to gain a deeper insight into astronomy’s role in enriching all human cultures. Moreover, it will serve as a platform for informing the public about the latest astronomical discoveries while emphasizing the essential role of astronomy in science education.

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Build Your Own Telescope
Subject: Astronomy
Grade level: Middle School Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Building Type
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Fun Science Gallery
Description: This is a simple and cheap telescope allows the learning, structure and operation of telescopes in general. Although it is simple, it can reveal the craters of the Moon and the satellites of Jupiter. It is also very useful for demonstrating lens aberrations.
Link: http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/tele/tele.htm