Results for Science Fair 2024
Congratulations to all the winners and huge thanks to everyone that entered. The standard of projects this year was outstanding!
Please note that the prize value indicated may not necessarily be awarded to a single exhibit nor the full value awarded. Special Prizes may be sub-divided at the Judge’s discretion, and be awarded to a number of exhibits.
2024 Awards Ceremony Photos
2024 Programme Booklet
2024 Winners
| Prize | Class | Student Name | Project Title | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIWA Prize for best overall exhibit | 4 - 20 | Isabelle Aduna | Power Up With Produce | Wellington Girls College |
| Royal Society of NZ Wellington Branch Prize for the runner-up best overall exhibit | 3 - 40 | Reese Lingad | Smartrash | Upper Hutt College |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Science Innovation Prize | 5 - 13 | Ishaan Badiyani | Licence Launch - revolutionising our learner’s theory tests | Whitby Collegiate |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Science Prize | 4 - 20 | Isabelle Aduna | Power Up With Produce | Wellington Girls College |
| First = in Class 5 | 5 - 1 | Ryan Tait | Thermal efficiency | Queen Margaret College |
| First = in Class 5 | 5 - 9 | Luke Scott-Hill | Harnessing Power from the Ocean | Tawa College |
| Third in Class 5 | 5 - 12 | Archer Page | Ruler Trick | Wellington High School |
| Fourth in Class 5 | 5 - 13 | Ishaan Badiyani | Licence Launch - revolutionising our learner’s theory tests | Whitby Collegiate |
| First in Class 4 | 4 - 20 | Isabelle Aduna | Power Up With Produce | Wellington Girls College |
| Second in Class 4 | 4 - 9 | Conor Sharkey | Milking It! - The Efficacy of Milk-based Plastic to Reduce Environmental Damage | St Patrick's College, Silverstream |
| Third in Class 4 | 4 - 17 | Karthik Sethuramalingam and Gavin Wang | Predict It: Making Machine Learning Available to Everyone | Wellington College |
| Fourth in Class 4 | 4 - 6 | Marcus Young, Benjamin Mein | Something's In the Water | Rongotai College |
| First in Class 3 | 3 - 40 | Reese Lingad | Smartrash | Upper Hutt College |
| Second in Class 3 | 3 - 2 | Muhammad Zayan Abbasi | Guardian of the Ocean | Onslow College |
| Third in Class 3 | 3 - 18 | Sai Parekh | Bleep, Blink or Buzz? | Samuel Marsden Collegiate School |
| Fourth in Class 3 | 3 - 21 | Abhitha Balakumar | Plant Power | St Oran's College |
| First = in Class 2 | 2 - 123 | Asher Lim | Title: Electronic Eyesight Test | Whitby Collegiate |
| First = in Class 2 | 2 - 41 | Samiksha Singh | Hydro Horizon | Newlands Intermediate |
| Third in Class 2 | 2 - 124 | Gabriel Anthony | Pill-Bot : A-Eye For The Visually Impaired | Whitby Collegiate |
| Fourth in Class 2 | 2 - 120 | Thomas Taylor | Battle of the Masks | Wadestown School |
| First in Class 1 | 1 - 29 | Inaaya Arsalan | Quake Defender | Rāroa Normal Intermediate School |
| Second in Class 1 | 1 - 37 | Frankie Hakaraia-Brunt | Does the lunar phase of the moon affect the possibility of drowning? | St Francis de Sales |
| Third in Class 1 | 1 - 44 | Luca Willis | In AI's Eyes | St Mark's School |
| Fourth in Class 1 | 1 - 13 | Leila Grenfeld | Light Polution and Star Visibility | Muritai School |
| Engineering New Zealand | 4 - 4 | Jai Jackson | Dewired | Rongotai College |
| Engineering New Zealand | 1 - 47 | Hugo Jones | Foiled: Is your Wi-Fi fast or last? | Wadestown School |
| Engineering New Zealand | 2 - 116 | Rosa Glennie | The Insulate Debate | Wadestown School |
| Engineering New Zealand | 2 - 119 | Sylvia Palmer | Don't Waste your Energy | Wadestown School |
| Engineering New Zealand | 2 - 23 | Tate Studd | Sea the Clean | Hataitai School |
| Engineering New Zealand | 2 - 82 | Tom Kirton | Welly Water Wastage | St Francis de Sales |
| Engineering New Zealand | 3 - 12 | Eloise Waterworth | Thermo-Stats - Which takeaway cup keeps your drink hot? | Samuel Marsden Collegiate School |
| Engineering New Zealand | 5 - 2 | Sarah Arsalan | Martian Harvester | Queen Margaret College |
| Engineering New Zealand | 4 - 15 | Kennedy Rushton | Harnessing the Tides | Upper Hutt College |
| Engineering New Zealand | 1 - 29 | Inaaya Arsalan | Quake Defender | Rāroa Normal Intermediate School |
| Engineering New Zealand | 2 - 41 | Samiksha Singh | Hydro Horizon | Newlands Intermediate |
| Engineering New Zealand | 3 - 2 | Muhammad Zayan Abbasi | Guardian of the Ocean | Onslow College |
| Engineering New Zealand | 3 - 40 | Reese Lingad | Smartrash | Upper Hutt College |
| Engineering New Zealand | 5 - 12 | Archer Page | Ruler Trick | Wellington High School |
| Engineering New Zealand | 5 - 1 | Ryan Tait | Thermal efficiency | Queen Margaret College |
| Engineering New Zealand | 5 - 9 | Luke Scott-Hill | Harnessing Power from the Ocean | Tawa College |
| Hugh D Gordon Memorial Prize | 2 - 108 | Charlotte Robinson | Weed Wacker | Wadestown School |
| Hugh D Gordon Memorial Prize | 2 - 70 | Sanishka Chakkapalli and Alice Davy | Lichen Bleaching | Queen Margaret College |
| Peter Jennings Memorial Prize | 5 - 3 | Yara Yaakoby | Hair bulbs | Queen Margaret College |
| Doreen Gates Memorial Prize | 2 - 62 | Evie Chan | Surface tension | Queen Margaret College |
| Doreen Gates Memorial Prize | 2 - 120 | Thomas Taylor | Battle of the Masks | Wadestown School |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Education | 4 - 2 | Chris Gray, Loukas Winiata | Effect of base on metal corrosion | Rongotai College |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Education | 2 - 118 | Seri Tietjens | Rotten to the Core | Wadestown School |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Education | 5 - 7 | Emily Bunton | Water Toxicity | St Oran's College |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Education | 4 - 9 | Conor Sharkey | Milking It! - The Efficacy of Milk-based Plastic to Reduce Environmental Damage | St Patrick's College, Silverstream |
| Cancer Society (Wellington Division) | 3 - 34 | Stefan Sanchez, Jeoffrey Bisa, and Micheal Cornell | How Cancer Tumours form | St Patricks College Wellington |
| Cancer Society (Wellington Division) | 2 - 12 | Nina Joe, Heidi Holzer, Poppy Whitaker | Medicines in our Backyard | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Cancer Society (Wellington Division) | 2 - 7 | Dylan Rama | Operation UV | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Measurement Standards Laboratory, Callaghan Innovation | 2 - 40 | Rishan Naik, Muhammad Mangera | Flying Hamburger Buns | Newlands Intermediate |
| Measurement Standards Laboratory, Callaghan Innovation | 3 - 19 | Sienna Cohen | Blowing in the Wind | Samuel Marsden Collegiate School |
| Measurement Standards Laboratory, Callaghan Innovation | 3 - 7 | Aarushi Harsh, Vrusha Mistry | Hues Got The Power | Samuel Marsden Collegiate School |
| NZ Association of Optometrists - Wellington Branch | 2 - 113 | Lachlan Best | An 'Eye-Catching' Science Fair | Wadestown School |
| NZ Association of Optometrists - Wellington Branch | 2 - 124 | Gabriel Anthony | Pill-Bot : A-Eye For The Visually Impaired | Whitby Collegiate |
| NZ Association of Optometrists - Wellington Branch | 2 - 123 | Asher Lim | Title: Electronic Eyesight Test | Whitby Collegiate |
| New Zealand Institute of Chemistry | 2 - 46 | Ethan Clendon | Recycling Reimagined | Northland School |
| New Zealand Institute of Chemistry | 2 - 119 | Sylvia Palmer | Don't Waste your Energy | Wadestown School |
| New Zealand Institute of Chemistry | 4 - 9 | Conor Sharkey | Milking It! - The Efficacy of Milk-based Plastic to Reduce Environmental Damage | St Patrick's College, Silverstream |
| New Zealand Institute of Chemistry | 4 - 20 | Isabelle Aduna | Power Up With Produce | Wellington Girls College |
| The School of Mathematics and Statistics at Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington | 2 - 117 | Sam Griffiths | Are Dice Truly Random? | Wadestown School |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington School of Engineering and Computer Science | 3 - 44 | Sai Emula, Ayush Mistry | Chess AI: Interactive Chess Bot for All! | Whitby Collegiate |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington School of Engineering and Computer Science | 4 - 17 | Karthik Sethuramalingam and Gavin Wang | Predict It: Making Machine Learning Available to Everyone | Wellington College |
| Wellington Medical Research Foundation | 1 - 35 | Anika Fyfe | My fight to eat cake! | St Francis de Sales |
| Wellington Medical Research Foundation | 2 - 14 | Tobias Burgess | Sugar Rush | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Wellington Medical Research Foundation | 2 - 83 | Bhavia Parmar | Hunger Games | St Mark's School |
| Antarctic Society, Wellington Branch | 2 - 91 | Theophilus Robinson | The icebergs are melting... | St Mark's School |
| The Institute for Environmental Science (ESR) | 1 - 17 | Saksham Gautam, Connor King | Chaos of the Bacteria! | Newlands Intermediate |
| The Institute for Environmental Science (ESR) | 1 - 27 | Charlotte Kirkwood, Deanna Smith | Do the Dishes, Feed the Plants | Rāroa Normal Intermediate School |
| The Institute for Environmental Science (ESR) | 2 - 12 | Nina Joe, Heidi Holzer, Poppy Whitaker | Medicines in our Backyard | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| The Institute for Environmental Science (ESR) | 2 - 36 | Elsie Saunders | Mycofiltration: The Fantastic Fungi Filter | Newlands Intermediate |
| The Institute for Environmental Science (ESR) | 4 - 1 | Amos Robinson | Poisonous Pohutukawa | Rongotai College |
| The Institute for Environmental Science (ESR) | 2 - 118 | Seri Tietjens | Rotten to the Core | Wadestown School |
| Wellington City Libraries | 5 - 7 | Emily Bunton | Water Toxicity | St Oran's College |
| NZ Institute of Food Science and Technology | 1 - 25 | Oscar Hill | Is the date right? | Northland School |
| NZ Institute of Food Science and Technology | 2 - 31 | Erinn Houston | How does branding affect our decisions when buying food and drinks. | Muritai School |
| Australasian Corrosion Association | 4 - 2 | Chris Gray, Loukas Winiata | Effect of base on metal corrosion | Rongotai College |
| Wellington Botanical Society | 4 - 1 | Amos Robinson | Poisonous Pohutukawa | Rongotai College |
| Wellington Botanical Society | 5 - 8 | Levi Millar | Is the beach a road? | Tawa College |
| NumberWorks'nWords | 2 - 49 | Harriet Small | Man, I feel like a Woman! | Northland School |
| NumberWorks'nWords | 1 - 44 | Luca Willis | In AI's Eyes | St Mark's School |
| NZ Baking Industry Research Trust Award | 3 - 13 | Eva McClintock | Sweet Enough? | Samuel Marsden Collegiate School |
| The Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching | 4 - 11 | Jedd Rix | Creatures of the night | Tawa College |
| Royal Aeronautical Society Bernard Weinstein Aerospace Prize | 2 - 39 | Mounidhanan Karthikeyan | A sphere of physics-miniature hot air balloon | Newlands Intermediate |
| Royal Aeronautical Society Bernard Weinstein Aerospace Prize | 2 - 40 | Rishan Naik, Muhammad Mangera | Flying Hamburger Buns | Newlands Intermediate |
| Royal Aeronautical Society Bernard Weinstein Aerospace Prize | 5 - 4 | Charlie Gibson-Scarlett, Alexander Pop | Huff, Puff and Blow Your House Down | Scots College |
| Society for Māori Astronomy Research and Traditions | 1 - 37 | Frankie Hakaraia-Brunt | Does the lunar phase of the moon affect the possibility of drowning? | St Francis de Sales |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington School of Psychology | 2 - 126 | Maya Kappagoda | "Don't Put Me In A Box" | Whitby Collegiate |
| Te Herenga Waka -- Victoria University of Wellington School of Psychology | 2 - 49 | Harriet Small | Man, I feel like a Woman! | Northland School |
| Balance Agri-nutrients Sustainable Agricultural Award | 4 - 6 | Marcus Young, Benjamin Mein | Something's In the Water | Rongotai College |
| New Zealand Coastal Society | 4 - 15 | Kennedy Rushton | Harnessing the Tides | Upper Hutt College |
| The Joint Centre for Disaster Research (Massey University/GNS Science) | 2 - 115 | Lucy Santure | Shaky Supply | Wadestown School |
| The Joint Centre for Disaster Research (Massey University/GNS Science) | 1 - 29 | Inaaya Arsalan | Quake Defender | Rāroa Normal Intermediate School |
| Stantec New Zealand | 2 - 9 | Hannah Norris, Anneke Rutherford, Freya Sherwood | Water or Waste? | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Stantec New Zealand | 2 - 95 | Brooklyn Donaldson, Elise Laurenson | How dirty are our waterways? | St Oran's College |
| Robinson Bowmaker Paul | 3 - 25 | Charlie Madar-Leuluai and William Tye | Thermoelectric Generator | St Patricks College Wellington |
| Robinson Bowmaker Paul | 2 - 41 | Samiksha Singh | Hydro Horizon | Newlands Intermediate |
| Robinson Bowmaker Paul | 5 - 9 | Luke Scott-Hill | Harnessing Power from the Ocean | Tawa College |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 10 | Ema Gatland, Anu Jobanputra , Violet Hayes | The Three Little Breads | Hutt Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 16 | Purav Joshi | Stress Factor: The Immunity Dilemma | Newlands Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 31 | Tobias Smith, Ted Dibley | In a Spin | Rāroa Normal Intermediate School |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 36 | Eva Stockler | Which battery lasts longer? | St Francis de Sales |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 4 | Anaton Rottpeter, Willa Ford | Luminous Life | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 49 | Ishan Hota | The Ping Test | Wadestown School |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 50 | Yunia Kuo | Changing the flower colors. | Hutt Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 6 | Miro Van Dam | Bio The Plastic Hero | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 7 | Otto Bungert, Lucca Mahar, Marlon Petherick | Mega Munching Mealworms | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 8 | Willow McIndoe, Nikita Mackay | Natural Cleaning Agents | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 9 | Sylvie Grove, Jasmine McCullough | Edible Weeds | Hataitai School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 10 | Jackson Coleman | Red At Night Sheppards Delight | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 109 | Connor Shrapnell | Distraction Reaction | Wadestown School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 112 | Jacob Williams | Colour Me Surprised | Wadestown School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 121 | Zara Delahunty | Will it Slip? | Wadestown School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 2 | Henry Prince | Athletic Lung or Not? | Clifton Terrace Model School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 59 | Dora Shen & Rebecca Yu | Elephants toothpaste | Queen Margaret College |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 78 | Haoyuan Gu, Beckett Wass, Satvik Bhardwaj | Safety Matters: Exploring Energy Absorption | Scots College |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 79 | Ella Willard | Does honey go funny? | St Francis de Sales |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 93 | Vaani Naguleswaran | Colour: Boys VS Girls | St Mark's School |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 11 | Eleanor Crampton, Sahana Sambhus | Don’t fry, Apply | Samuel Marsden Collegiate School |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 15 | Madeleine Forbes | Going Down the Drain | Samuel Marsden Collegiate School |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 16 | Maggie Dinniss | Fruit Bursts! | Samuel Marsden Collegiate School |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 23 | Millie Tait, Emily Stewart | Asleep at Last! | St Oran's College |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 26 | Euan Angeles, Rohan Fernandez, and Joshua Galan | Does moon light generate any solar energy? | St Patricks College Wellington |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 29 | Jack McDougall & Lucas NG | Does noise level affect your ability to memorise? | St Patricks College Wellington |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 32 | Mac Powesland | Minature Wind Turbine Energy Generator | St Patricks College Wellington |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 36 | Fraser Burns, Finn O'Brien | How short videos are ruining our attention span | Upper Hutt College |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 37 | Kyle Hogh | The Secret of Piezoelectricity | Upper Hutt College |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 38 | Layla Cocklin | How do temperatures affect vitamin C | Upper Hutt College |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 4 | Isaac Franklin, Gagan Yadav | Get to the Point, Particle | Rongotai College |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 5 | Jake Pointon, James Connolly, Oscar Lyon | Slow burn | Rongotai College |
| Highly Commended | 4 - 19 | Elyse Mason, Lucy Wills | My favourite flavour is Pink | Wellington Girls College |
| Highly Commended | 4 - 8 | Edward Usher | A Sticky Situation | Scots College |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 108 | Charlotte Robinson | Weed Wacker | Wadestown School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 113 | Lachlan Best | An 'Eye-Catching' Science Fair | Wadestown School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 39 | Mounidhanan Karthikeyan | A sphere of physics-miniature hot air balloon | Newlands Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 4 - 4 | Jai Jackson | Dewired | Rongotai College |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 126 | Maya Kappagoda | "Don't Put Me In A Box" | Whitby Collegiate |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 49 | Harriet Small | Man, I feel like a Woman! | Northland School |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 25 | Oscar Hill | Is the date right? | Northland School |
| Highly Commended | 1 - 35 | Anika Fyfe | My fight to eat cake! | St Francis de Sales |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 116 | Rosa Glennie | The Insulate Debate | Wadestown School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 31 | Erinn Houston | How does branding affect our decisions when buying food and drinks. | Muritai School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 7 | Dylan Rama | Operation UV | Evans Bay Intermediate |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 82 | Tom Kirton | Welly Water Wastage | St Francis de Sales |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 83 | Bhavia Parmar | Hunger Games | St Mark's School |
| Highly Commended | 2 - 95 | Brooklyn Donaldson, Elise Laurenson | How dirty are our waterways? | St Oran's College |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 12 | Eloise Waterworth | Thermo-Stats - Which takeaway cup keeps your drink hot? | Samuel Marsden Collegiate School |
| Highly Commended | 3 - 25 | Charlie Madar-Leuluai and William Tye | Thermoelectric Generator | St Patricks College Wellington |
| Highly Commended | 4 - 2 | Chris Gray, Loukas Winiata | Effect of base on metal corrosion | Rongotai College |
| Highly Commended | 5 - 3 | Yara Yaakoby | Hair bulbs | Queen Margaret College |
Thank you all for participating in the NIWA Wellington Regional Science & Technology Fair. See you all back next year!
Protection of Copyright, Intellectual Property and Design
Please note that the student’s intellectual property within entries to this fair has been protected by gazetting this exhibition under Section 9(2) of the Patents Act 2013 and Section 10(2) of the Designs Act 1953 by The Commissioner of Patents. https://www.iponz.govt.nz/about-iponz/the-journal/