A high school student in Guelph, Ontario, has earned a spot at the national science fair after turning her family’s interest in squirrels into a project. Kira Egete, a 15-year-old student at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School, shared her journey with CBC News, describing how what began as a Grade 10 assignment has led her to the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Edmonton, where she will join 400 other students for a week of competition and collaboration.
“I’m thrilled,” Kira expressed, reflecting on her excitement about the upcoming event. Her project revolves around a backyard experiment designed to investigate how squirrels react to various colors. Her family’s fondness for squirrels, which blossomed after moving to Canada from Serbia in 2014, fueled her interest in understanding the world through the eyes of these creatures.
Kira’s experiment involved transforming her backyard into a controlled testing area with pots of different colors, each containing a peanut. Through meticulous planning and the use of a lux meter app to ensure consistent brightness, she conducted trials to observe squirrel behavior. Surprisingly, her findings challenged her initial hypothesis, revealing that squirrels were more attracted to red and yellow colors over cooler tones like blue and green.
Following the completion of her study, Kira presented her project at her school’s science fair, where she was selected to advance to the Waterloo-Wellington Science and Engineering Fair. This success ultimately secured her a place at the national competition. Alana Harrison, the school’s library technician overseeing the fair, commended Kira’s dedication and enthusiasm for her research, emphasizing how Kira’s initiative and passion had driven the project forward.
Apart from her scientific endeavors, Kira is actively involved in her school community, running a charity called Hugs and Hand, participating in robotics and track teams, and engaging in various extracurricular activities. As she looks forward to the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Edmonton, Kira remains intrigued by the potential applications of her findings and is considering a future in STEM fields like engineering or medicine. Her journey from a simple curiosity about squirrels to a national science fair contender is a testament to her dedication and inquisitive spirit.