Burns Lake student science fair project showcased at international science exhibition

A Burns Lake student had a chance to showcase her science fair project at Expo Sciences International in Mexico.

Rheanna Leith wanted to do her project on something recent and took inspiration from her experience during the COVID pandemic.

“I have experience with mental health and during the pandemic, it got bad for me. I wanted to see how bad it was getting for other people and to show people, especially adults, that it was a big problem in our world and people were overlooking it at the time,” she said.

With the idea in hand, Leith started on her project called How the Pandemic Affects Your Mental Health, and surveyed students in her school.

After compiling the answers and creating her display, she presented at her school’s science fair, winning third place.

Leith took the project to the provincial fair where she won first place, landing her a spot in the national science fair.

From there, her along with about 30 other Canadian students went to Puebla, Mexico where they presented their projects to international students and scientists.

“I had so many kids coming by my project and asking about it. Lots of people were taking pictures of my board and people taking notes. It made me really happy because I got my project out to more people,” said Leith.

She also enjoyed being able to visit Mexico.

“It was a crazy experience. It didn’t feel real at first and my dad got to join me so that was a great experience for the both of us.”

While not participating in the science fair this year, Leith does want to put more work into this project in the future.

“I want to expand the project that I have with more kids, more research, and a bit of the aftermath of the pandemic and see how kids are affected now.”