Beaufort Delta student soars at national science fair

An Inuvialuit high school student won a bronze medal from the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa last week.

Tyra Cockney-Goose won in the senior division for her science experiment on sleep deprivation.

She is the first person from the Beaufort Delta to win a medal at the fair since 2013, and the only person from the N.W.T. to win a medal this year, according to her coach, Jenn Parrott.

"It was a lot of fun," said Cockney-Goose, before heading back to Inuvik from Ottawa last week.

Soaring through competitions

Cockney-Goose scored a spot at the Canada-Wide Science Fair after participating in her school's science fair.

While she was the only participant, she said, "they judged me just so I could get the feel of it before regionals."

When she won first place at regionals, "I was given an opportunity to come to Ottawa for the nationals," she said.

'Regularly sleep deprived'

Cockney-Goose decided to study sleep deprivation in hopes of helping herself and others.

"I'm a person that is regularly sleep deprived," said Cockney-Goose. "I know that a lot of my friends and a lot of … people going to school, they're busy with homework."

She said her study could help them realize they could invest more time in getting a better sleep at night if they did their homework earlier.

But getting enough sleep isn't simple in the North — especially in June, when the sun is up 24/7 in Inuvik, said Cockney-Goose

"Not that I don't realize what time it is, but I look outside and it's bright and I think that I could probably still be awake," she said.

Put that Facebook away

After testing the experiment on herself and others, Cockney-Goose said she discovered her ability to perform in "various areas" decreased "drastically."

One technique she hopes to use to help her get a better sleep is to put her phone away at night, so she's not scrolling through Facebook.

"And also, like, putting better blinds on my windows," she said.

A total of 500 students participated in the Canada-Wide Science Fair this year, with 400 projects on display, according to the event's website.

There were 10 gold medals, 20 silver medals and 40 bronze medals given out in Cockney-Goose's division, her coach said.