Probiotic Demand Nets Wolfville, NS, Student Gold Medal at National Science Fair

WOLFVILLE, NS — A grade 11 student who wondered about the benefits of probiotics has left behind a gold medal national competition — and a much better understanding of bacterial cultures.

Wolfville resident Thomas Murimboh, who attends Horton High School, was one of 10 Nova Scotian students who traveled to Edmonton in mid-May to participate in the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF).

The event brought together Canada’s top young scientists from grades 7-12 for a week-long competition at the University of Alberta (U of A).

“The Annapolis (Valley) crew was exemplary in their performance and their representation of the region. On a national level, Nova Scotia was very successful, Annapolis in particular, each bringing home a gold, silver and bronze medallion,” said teacher Rob Davies, who accompanied the students on the trip and is a key member of the regional science fair. organizing committee.

Students participating in regional science fairs were selected to exhibit nationally. Representatives from the Annapolis Valley included Thomas Murimboh, his younger sister Sarah Murimboh, who also attends Horton, and King’s-Edgehill School students Harvey Hadley and William Larder.

“The four finalists from the Annapolis region got to work immediately upon arrival in Edmonton. Over the course of the week, the group was immersed in a week of science and science-related activities,” said Davies. “From the joys of the escape room, to the stress of being judged, to an amazing U of A experience, to a Taylor Swift light show, the week was packed with meaningful experiences.”

And the students did well. The Murimbohs took home a gold (Thomas, senior level) and silver (Sarah, intermediate level) medal, and William Larder took home a bronze (intermediate level).

Gold medal project

Thomas Murimboh said his science fair project was inspired by his family’s regular use of probiotics.

“I never really questioned their effectiveness until I read an article in biology class that said probiotics don’t really do much for your health. So I really wanted to explore it further,” he said, noting that he recently Summer started toying with the idea.

In January, he got serious about formulating how he would collect the samples and monitor the project. He chose seven products to taste – popular yogurts and freeze-dried probiotic supplements.

“Because they all contain live bacteria, I could actually grow them on petri dishes. They’ll grow colonies for me and I can count the colonies and deduce how many were in the actual sample,’ he said.

“I am very grateful to my father (John Murimboh) for helping me with this project, because sometimes we would stay up until 1 a.m. to get the results for each of the samples.”

What he found was that some yogurts, which don’t make probiotic claims, produce more than those that people expect to contain billions of probiotics. He said the thicker yogurt tended to have the higher concentrations. The samples with the fewest probiotics were those that were freeze-dried.

After his gold medal win, he said the judges encouraged him to contact the companies.

“A lot of them even suggested I send my results to some of the companies to show them, ‘Hey, this is what I actually found in your products,’ because I can actually see which… actually give the number of probiotics they claim to have in them.”

While he hasn’t pursued that yet, he said he may do so once the exams are over and the school year is over.

While winning his category was a highlight, he said the best part of attending the national fair was being with like-minded peers.

“I think what I’ll remember from this experience is everyone around me who can also appreciate science,” he said, noting that even the ride from the airport to the site was memorable.

“I had conversations about how much force the bus exerts on the road and just random physics questions like that, and I really liked that.”

Davies said the young scientists also connected and forged friendships with peers during the trip.

“Our students immersed themselves in the pin trade, which allowed them to meet and form relationships with students from all over Canada, Mexico and Thailand,” said Davies.

What’s next

Thomas started participating in the local science fair when he was in elementary school.

“I do them every year – for as long as I can remember,” he said.

He’s not ruling out participating in next year’s Annapolis Valley science fair as a 12th grade student, but says he won’t either.

“It’s been a lot of work this year and I’m not sure I’m willing to put in that much effort again. But yes, it’s still on the table as a possibility,” he said.

For students thinking about participating in next year’s regional science fair, Thomas hopes they do — and he hopes they challenge themselves to explore things that interest them.

“If you want to go to the science fair, the most important thing is that you choose a topic that you are passionate about,” Thomas advised.

As for Davies, he thinks the future looks bright for the regional science fair and for future champions going into the national competitions.

“As the exhibition committee, we are very excited about what is to come. We have several enthusiastic young scientists in the region who will be competing for a spot at next year’s CWSF in Ottawa in March,” he said.

“Going forward, I predict we will see more local schools involved in the regional scholarship, with a continued rise in the quality of work our students produce.”

Davies said the 2023 regional science fair was held in Windsor at the end of March, marking the first time since the pandemic that in-person science fairs have been held.

“We had a record number of projects from primary to 6th grade, which really bodes well for the future of the fair,” he said. “Even after being away for so long, the students really put in a lot of time and effort and did some really cool stuff.”

Did you know?

Details on the recent Canada-Wide Science Fair.

Where: Edmonton.

When: May 14-19.

Why: To bring together the country’s best young scientists from grades 7-12 who then compete for medals, cash prizes and grants.

Who: Four youths from the Annapolis Valley—Harvey Hadley, William Larder, and siblings Sarah Murimboh and Thomas Murimboh—were part of the Nova Scotia contingent that attended the fair.

Highlights: Three of the Valley youth left with medals and post-secondary scholarship offers.

• William Larder, from King’s-Edgehill School, received bronze at intermediate level; entrance scholarships to University of Alberta ($1,500) and Western University ($1,000).

• Sarah Murimboh, from Horton High School, received a silver medal in the intermediate level; entrance scholarships to University of Alberta ($1,500) and Western University ($2,000).

• Thomas Murimboh, from Horton High School, received a gold medal in higher education; entrance scholarships to Dalhousie Faculty of Science ($5,000), University of Manitoba ($5,000), University of New Brunswick ($5,000), University of British Columbia Faculty of Science ($4,000), University of Ottawa ($4,000), Western University ($4,000) and University of Alberta ($1,500).