Twenty-four students, some individually and some in teams, showcased their talents at the Region 1 Science Fair on March 7 at Western New England University. Seventeen of the students placed with a first, second or third prize, according to Westfield Science, Engineering and Technology Supervisor Lauren Cadigan. The first and second place finishers will go onto the state fair at Gillette Stadium on April 4.
Recognized at the regional fair with first place was Kaitlynn Goulette of Westfield High School with her project, “Analyzing the Effects of Different Lighting Types on Vanessa cardu Butterflies,” which also received a prestigious award from the Mass Life Science Center called the Trailblazer Award, Cadigan said. Goulette’s project which also took first place at the Science and Engineering Fair at WHS.
Goulette studied the impact on the butterfly's rate of consumption with LED, fluorescent, incandescent and natural lighting. Working at the Seymour Planetarium as an instructor, Goulette realized that light pollution also has an impact on human bodies, impacting their circadian rhythms or 24-hour internal clock, and she decided for her project she wanted to study the physical impacts of light.
“I bought a bunch of butterflies and raised them from larvae. Once they formed chrysalises, I put them in four different cages and fed them every two days, to measure their consumption rates,” Goulette said. She said she prepared crushed bananas, which she froze and changed out every two days.
Second place projects, which will also advance to the state fair, went to siblings Emily Bulan and Luke Bulan of WHS for “Designing an Economical Multi-Purpose Care Blanket for Neonates Part III,’ Elizabeth Coach and Hannah Callini of WHS for “How Different Hand Soaps Affect Bacterial Growth,” Abigail Jemiolo and Makenzie Watt of WHS for “Comparative Analysis of Sunscreen SPF Ratings and UV Protection” and to Brandon Guyott and Justin Romanelli of WHS for “Optimizing an After-market Prototype that Operates a Window Remotely.”