THUNDER BAY - A road block on a paleontology expedition helped a Grade 10 Hammarskjold High School student win six awards at the Northwestern Ontario Regional Science Fair, including Best In Fair.
Emily Cross’ project, "Geochemical Extraction of Ceratopsian Remains and Opal from Ironstone" focused on removing important samples trapped within a certain type of rock.
“There is this really hard rock called ironstone. Many important specimens are found trapped within it and they are unable to be removed using manual methods because the ironstone is hard and causes damage,” Cross said, after the awards ceremony Sunday evening.
“I discovered geochemical treatments to remove the samples by breaking down the ironstone without damage to the specimens.”
Cross explained the idea came to her last summer when she unsuccessfully tried digging a bone out of ironstone during a trip to a dinosaur dig.
The employee working during the dig informed Cross that they couldn’t get the bones out of the ironstone because it causes damage and takes a long time, which got Cross thinking about ironstone.
“Coming up with the idea was the easy part,” she said.
“Trying to make sure my samples were dry enough for testing was the hard part.”
From dig to final project, Cross spend eight months researching, experimenting and analyzing her data.
“I really love paleontology. I loved it ever since I was seven years old and so it’s important for me to be doing this project because that’s my passion,” Cross said.
“I hope to keep following my passion wherever it takes me.”
Cross and seven other Canadian high school scientists were selected by Youth Science Canada to represent the country at the world’s largest science fair, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, from May 8 to 13 in Phoenix, AZ.
