Six students from the Lakehead District School Board are preparing to represent Northwestern Ontario on a national stage after securing spots at the upcoming Canada-Wide Science Fair. These students are among nearly 50 local youth who received recognition at the 2026 Northwestern Ontario Regional Science Fair for their work in science, technology, engineering, and math.
The national competition will take place from May 23 to May 30, 2026, at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Alberta. More than 400 students from across the country will gather at the event, which is organized by Youth Science Canada.
Among the local qualifiers are students from Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute and Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute. Freya Mannisto of Superior Collegiate is attending with research on the impacts of a mental health app on heart rate, while fellow student Brody Horihan is presenting his study on the effects of drought on plant stomatal aperture. Celeste Marcon from Westgate Collegiate qualified with a biophysics project investigating ion pumps and membrane leakage, an effort that earned her both the Coding Award and the Math and Statistics Award.
The regional fair, which selects students for the national event, has been operating for over 60 years. Lakehead District School Board, the largest public school board in Northwestern Ontario, continues to support these students as they move forward to compete for national prizes and scholarships.
