23 Jul 2021
Last week was Project X week at Murrumbidgee Regional High School. Project X is the culmination of an entire term’s worth of experimentation by students in the fields of physics, biology, chemistry, agricultural science, sports science and commercial science.
Close to 100 Year 10 students took part. It was on the students to come up with a hypothesis and then build an experiment to prove or disprove it using the scientific method. As you can imagine, the topics researched were wide-ranging and incredibly creative.
Jet Smith examined the Stroop Effect. Named after J Ridley Stroop, the effect is best exemplified by the confusion of reading the names of colours printed in contradictory colours. The reasons behind this, which Jet explored, show how the human brain processes and prioritises information.
Mia Macri’s visually striking “Don’t Eat Like a Toddler” display explored the effects of a 1200 calorie diet on a grown person. The results showed that while the diet can achieve fast weight loss, it is an unsustainable way of eating.
It was Hannah Mitchell’s experiment, however, that took out Most Outstanding Project. Her research into the effects of subliminal messages on the brain had participants listen to a track with the subliminal message to “Pick the Blue Flower”. They were then asked to pick the card they were most drawn to from five flashcards. The experiment found the subliminal message did in fact affect a percentage of the participants.
Congratulations to all of the students who participated. There was a fantastic selection of projects to choose from this year. Take a look at some of the award-winning displays below.
