Course Description

Science Research Program – Grades 9, 10, 11, 12


Full Year – Level H: Incoming freshman and sophomore students must apply for admission to this program in January of the prior academic year. Acceptance into the program will be based on a science teacher recommendation, a written essay, and excellent academic grades.


This is an ongoing program that is taken in conjunction with the student’s regular science course. There are several tiers to the program. During Year 1 students learn the components of scientific research including the scientific method and apply these concepts in various settings including designing and conducting an authentic science research project and communicating results by participation in at least one local science fair. Students also explore various applications of science topics through field trips, guest speakers and class projects. Advanced students (Years 2-4) select their science research topic, locate an out-of-school mentor (either in industry or at a local university) and compete in a variety of science fairs including the CT State Science Fair, Southern CT Invitational Science and Engineering Fair (SCSEF) and the CT Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (CT JSHS). Advanced students pursue their selected research in depth, perform statistical analysis and compete at a number of local and/or national science fairs and competitions. In Years 2, 3, and 4 students are grouped together in a non-traditional classroom setting and are required to meet individually outside of class with their Science Research Instructor biweekly to review individual goals and assess progress. All students participate in the culminating annual activity, Amity’s Science Symposium.


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

2015 CT JSHS

For those of you who attended the 52nd Annual CT JSHS, please answer the following:

1. What was your overall impression of the 2 day event? Comment specifically about the agenda of each day separately.

2. What did you think of the first Keynote Speaker, Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater, regarding delivering effective presentations?

3. What did you think of the second Keynote Speaker, Miss Rachel, about the future of Commercial Space Transportation?

4. How was the food (dinner Sunday, lunch Monday, snacks)?

5. Did you visit other student's posters? If so, which one left the most lasting impression?

6. Which oral presentation did you enjoy most?

7. Are you interested in attending 2016 JSHS? Why or why not?

8. Improvements to JSHS overall? Things you loved?

8 comments:

  1. 1. What was your overall impression of the 2 day event? Comment specifically about the agenda of each day separately.

    Overall, JSHS was a pretty successful event. Day One was probably my favorite of the two, probably because I was presenting that day. Also, the schools seemed more involved on this day, because many left on Day Two before the end.

    2. What did you think of the first Keynote Speaker, Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater, regarding delivering effective presentations?

    I absolutely loved Dr. Leadbeater’s presentation. He provided very useful information in presenting, and this was necessary, because many of us were about to present. I thought it would be boring, but he did an amazing job presenting.

    3. What did you think of the second Keynote Speaker, Miss Rachel, about the future of Commercial Space Transportation?

    I had a bit of an issue with this presentation. I loved her story and videos, but her personality and her desperateness to connect were very off-putting, to the point where I felt uncomfortable to be in the room. She tried way too much, but other than that, it was okay.

    4. How was the food (dinner Sunday, lunch Monday, snacks)?

    The food overall was pretty great. I only showed up for the Italian ice to be honest.

    5. Did you visit other student's posters? If so, which one left the most lasting impression?

    I didn’t get a chance to look at other posters. The only two I saw were the ones directly next to me. However, I looked at some of the competitive posters, and my favorite was Julia’s. Literal queen to be honest.

    6. Which oral presentation did you enjoy most?

    I enjoyed the oral presentation on biochar the most. The presenter did a phenomenal job of connecting to the audience, and his use of video worked out really well. He just did an amazing job overall.

    7. Are you interested in attending 2016 JSHS? Why or why not?

    I would be interested in JSHS in 2016 because it is a great experience, and I would love to go and present competitively for my senior year.

    8. Improvements to JSHS overall? Things you loved?

    I would love to see the lab experience get improved. Whether that be a change in lab assignments, or a substitution of the program, I think it needs to be revamped. I did love the poster presentations, and I think that that should be a larger part of the fair.

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  2. 1. Overall, the JSHS was a positive experience that ran relatively smoothly. Though it seemed less organized than past years were said to be, the fair was a good one. The first day was less tiring - a good balance of guest and student presentation. The second day was quite tiring, with 15 presentations, in addition to a poster session and lab tours. Staying overnight at Hawley Armory was a fine experience - though I did sleep on the floor, I was able to play some frisbee and cards (I also slept relatively well, and the bathrooms/showers were better than at Amity).

    2. I thought the presentation by Dr. Leadbeater on effective presentations was relatively interesting. Though it began a little weakly (much of the audience was not very engaged), by the end, he had gained the interest of many. Some of the ideas he presented on the structure of a presentation was also useful for my poster presentation to follow.

    3.The presentation by the second speaker, Miss Rachel, was very mediocre - though she had an interesting story, and some nice video about aerospace experience, her presentation skills were lacking. It was apparent that she was a middle or elementary school teacher, especially after her inability to elucidate the meaning of G-forces, when asked a question. (Her answer consisted of something to the effect of : “G-forces are like pressures, all I know is that negative G-forces are a lot more pressure, and much harder on your body than other types of G-forces, yeah, G-forces are tough to get through”). Ms. Day and the rest of the table had some fun laughing about her presentation after that. Miss Rachel’s “follow your dreams” acronym was also a bit unnecessary for high school sciressers already doing just that. Still, I am interested in learning more about commercial spaceflight, especially on the engineering side of things.

    In case you were wondering, 1-G is the amount of acceleration experienced by an object at Earth’s surface, so “g’s” are how many times stronger than earth-acceleration you are experiencing. Generally, “positive-g’s” occur when a person is accelerated up (or forward), and so-called “negative g’s” occur when a person is accelerated down (or backward). This link has a nice picture of it: http://what-if.xkcd.com/116/.


    4. In my opinion, the food was okay. I liked the dinner Sunday (which also offered access to tables) better than the lunch Monday (which didn’t encourage much mingling for the presenters due to the row-by-row layout). Breakfast on Monday for the stay-overs was not very appealing though. Snacks were always good.

    5. I did visit other students’ posters - one that quite interested me was the second-place winner’s poster on synthesis and characterization of nanoparticles (I forget of which material).

    6. I enjoyed the oral presentation by Ethan Novek the most (an invention to convert excess heat and CO2 from fossil-fuel plants to electricity and urea). Though he didn’t present too much evidence of lab work on the project, and I was still unsure that the data he produced indicated feasibility of the method, I was intrigued by his idea, and his showmanship of the project was quite good.

    7. I might be interested in attending 2016 JSHS, if I decide to attend UConn. I might just work as a lab-tour undergraduate.

    8. I think the activities at JSHS could be much improved - I had great expectations about music and planned activities which were not met. Also, there must be a better way to allow 15 people to present, while not making all attendees watch - maybe the two room option should come back? I loved the spirit of innovation at JSHS, though, and hearing about great research by other students is always enjoyable.

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  3. 1.) Overall, I think JSHS was a very positive experience. I enjoyed the first day a lot more than the second day because it was more interactive. The keynote speakers were interesting to hear, and the day wasn’t completely filled with just listening to project after project. For this reason, the second day felt a little long because we just sat and listened to fifteen people for hours, and then I went on an engineering lab tour- a topic I have no knowledge of and little interest in.

    2.) I enjoyed listening to Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater. He was very energetic and seemed like he was having a lot of fun. He had some helpful tips such as speak like you’re explaining your project to your grandma, and include analogies and “sticky stories”. I will definitely try to include some of these ideas into future presentations.

    3.) Honestly, I thought Miss Rachel was idealistic and a bit insane. I had just been reading about the Mars One goal of setting up a colony on Mars and a lot of people were saying that even for a goal of accomplishing this in 10 years, it is still very unrealistic. Hearing Rachel talk about her going on a commercial flight into space within the next two years because this new company can “do things NASA can’t” just doesn’t seem plausible. She was also just too excited about it. Considering that this has been her dream since she was in 6th grade, I feel that her judgment is clouded by her bias.

    4.) The food was pretty good overall. I didn’t really get a change to have cookies during the poster exhibition presentation because people kept coming up to me, however, I did manage to grab some lemonade, which was pretty good. Dinner on Sunday was really good. They had a good amount of options and the cannoli was great! Lunch on Monday was a bit disappointing because they had run out of turkey sandwiches by the time I got to the front of the line, but the remaining options weren’t terrible. I grabbed some oreos and those made up for it. ☺ My lab-tour group also went to Dunkin Donuts where I got a mint hot chocolate which = delicious. The Italian ice things at the end were nice and refreshing as well.

    5.) No, I didn’t get to look at other student’s posters. During the exhibition I was with mine the whole time, and during breaks I enjoyed the refreshments upstairs.

    6.) I enjoyed the Zebra Mussel oral presentation the most. The presenter spoke very clearly, and I was able to follow everything she said. I thought the application of the project was very relevant and practical. The slogan she ended with, “Spread the message, not the mussel” was very clever and captured the center of the presentation very well. In addition, I was impressed with the amount of experimentation she did in her research as she tested essentially three different things all in one.

    7.) Yes, I am interested in attending 2016 JSHS. I found it really interesting to be exposed to projects of all types and levels. It was a fun experience and a good way to broaden my horizons for potential project topics/ideas.

    8.) My one complaint for JSHS is that the lab tours did not match the ratings we gave JSHS for different science areas. No one in my group for engineering was interested in engineering. No one had any clue what the presenters were talking about. It would be nice to have better communication next time for this issue as well as just general information. I spent a lot of the time really confused on where to go or what to be doing, and different volunteers kept giving contradicting information.

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  4. 1. Overall, I had a great time. On Sunday, I really enjoyed presenting and I think it flowed well. Monday was a bit more tiring simply because the bulk of it was just presentations, though I loved hearing them.

    2. I thought Dr. Leadbeater was great! He was engaging and it was fun to listen to his talk. I thought his keynote would be boring, but it was great.

    3. Unfortunately, Miss Rachel wasn't the best keynote. She definitely tried to connect, but I would've liked learning more on commercial airflight rather than being told her same catchphrase. It was a fun time at the table though!

    4. The food was great on Sunday! I thought there could be better food on Monday and no UConn Dairy Bar. :(

    5. Yes, I did. The presentation that left a lasting impression on me was the top poster presenter - he did work on creating diesel fuels using zeolite and plaster clay catalysts. He was extremely knowledgeable and seemed to never stop, haha.

    6. I enjoyed Paul Han's oral the most because I was thoroughly impressed with how he built his own circuit board. He did a lot of the research himself, and his work was evident. The other orals were all amazing.

    7. Of course I am interested. I had a great time.

    8. The tour was not as exciting or organized as it could have been and I would enjoy more activities. I loved presenting and hearing the other students.

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  5. 1. JSHS was an amazing experience overall! The poster exhibition on the first day and the oral presentations on the second day were very interesting and they showed me possibilities to different project ideas.
    2. The first Keynote Speaker was very interesting! Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater scattered jokes, puns, and fun examples to help people better understand what he was talking about. Or, sometimes he was just adding humor into his talk ☺ His presentation taught me useful presenting tips that I will be sure to use in the future!
    3. The second Keynote Speaker was not as interesting… Miss Rachel seemed very interested in what she was talking about, but she poorly delivered her speech, not adding any audience-engaging techniques. Also, some parts of her talk were a little awkward. Additionally, there was a phrase that she kept repeating that wasn’t really motivating… “The question won’t be if you can go to space, but how many times you will go into space.”
    4. The food was amazing!! The dinner on Sunday was especially delicious. I especially liked the cannoli to finish off the dinner. The lunch on Monday wasn’t as good but it was a very tasty Subway sandwich. They also gave us snacks such as chips, fruit snacks, and Italian Ice.
    5. I did visit other student’s posters. I saw many that had a really confusing title, so I talked to the students. Some of the students clarified what their project was about, but I was still confused on others. Overall it was very good.
    6. I enjoyed the oral presentation about the zebra mussels the most. The student was a very good speaker and she explained variables, the problem, purpose, etc very well so that everyone can understand. I also liked the first oral presentation about the rare disease. Although she didn’t have any data, she was also a good speaker and I found it really interesting.
    7. I am definitely interested in attending JSHS 2016. The experience this year was such a success that I hope I will attend JSHS again next year-hopefully as a presenter!
    8. Some improvements to JSHS are about the lab tours. I really enjoyed mine-the biodiversity lab. However, I heard some other lab tours weren’t as successful. Contrastingly, I loved my lab tour and it was really interesting. I also loved the dinner on Sunday night and the oral presentations!

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  6. 1. What was your overall impression of the 2 day event? Comment specifically about the agenda of each day separately.
    The overall event was pretty good. I enjoyed the first day more, as I liked looking at the projects and the presentations. I found that there was a lot of time for the STEM project exhibition, maybe too much time. The presentations by the Key Note Speakers were really good and entertaining, especiall Dr. Leadbeater’s. On Monday, I did enjoy the day, but it was definitely more boring. The oral presenters were exceptional, but some of their topics I wasn’t engaged in. The lab tour I would have liked much more if I was put into a more appropriate group than biotech and agriculture. Also, awards didn’t seem very organized, as I was confused as what the awards meant and who got them.

    2. What did you think of the first Keynote Speaker, Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater, regarding delivering effective presentations?
    Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater delivered an engaging and relatable presentation. As young scientists, presentation is so key, and he effectively taught the audience useful tips. I was happy that he didn’t present so much of his own work, as I’m not the biggest chemistry fan and I might’ve lost interest.
    3. What did you think of the second Keynote Speaker, Miss Rachel, about the future of Commercial Space Transportation?
    I thought Miss Rachel was a little too enthusiastic about her presentation. She jumped and clapped her hands a lot, and it definitely made me feel like I was in elementary school again. She was also too excited about everyone going into space, and I’m a little skeptical of that happening. Also , she talked a lot about herself and then ineffectively switched topics to her “DREAM” acronym.

    4. How was the food (dinner Sunday, lunch Monday, snacks)?
    The food was good. The dinner was okay, nothing special, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of it. I liked the bread a lot though. Lunch was better, the SUBWAY and snacks was definitely a good choice. The snack I liked, as I’m a big fan of Italian Ice.

    5. Did you visit other student's posters? If so, which one left the most lasting impression?
    I did visit other poster presentations for a short amount of time, and I liked one about the enzyme that made fruit ripe. It was interesting because it was so relevant and the presenter told me most grocery stores keep fruit and vegetables in freezers for months, and then once they put it out, they use the enzyme to ripen it.

    6. Which oral presentation did you enjoy most?
    The oral presentation I enjoyed most was the one about zebra mussels. The girl presenting was very thorough, but also easy to understand. She presented excellently; she was very fluid. I was very impressed with her calamity as well.
    7. Are you interested in attending 2016 JSHS? Why or why not?
    yes, I would like to attend 2016 JSHS. Hopefully, next year I can be a presenter! It was a good experience, and I like attending science fairs and the environment. The fair in general is pretty well done, also.
    8. Improvements to JSHS overall? Things you loved?
    I wish there were more behavioral projects because that’s what I’m really interested in. I also was not very interested in some of the oral projects, so maybe students can pick which oral presentations to go to? Also, awards needs to be better organized. The tours were also lacking organization, as there was a head count, but when the undergraduate realized some kids were not in the group, she told us it’s fine and moved on.

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  7. Katie Meehan

    1. JSHS was a very interesting experience. The first day was definitely much more fun than the second day. There was a lack of puns in both of the Keynote presentations, but other than that they were some of the better presentations I have heard. The presentation of my poster was different from other presentations I have given. Everyone seemed very interested in my project and I made friends with some unique boys who did ask educated questions about my project. When they ran out of educated questions to ask, they continued to talk to me but about lacrosse instead of science. I tried to be polite and pretended that I cared and knew what they were talking about, but I know nothing about lacrosse and do not want to learn. The second day was VERY long. We had to sit through 15 presentations and although they were all very interesting, it was a long time to watch presentations for. After the presentations we went on a tour. I signed up to see the biology labs but instead we visited 2 engineering labs and no one understood anything the students were saying. Then the tour guide took us to Dunkin Donuts instead of finishing the tour because no one wanted to see anymore engineering labs. After that we had cheep and not tasty ice cream and then awards. All in all, JSHS 2015 was a fun experience and I would like to go again.

    2. The first Keynote Speaker was interesting, but it wasn’t very useful for the Amity students. Dr. Leadbeater explained to us how to give oral presentations, but we have already had a lot of practice in that field and most of the things he told us we already knew. Also there were no puns and I was disappointed, but I did appreciate the fact that he made fun of most of the Amity project titles.

    3. The second Keynote Speaker was very enthusiastic. I am not very interested in space and space travel, but she did make her presentation fairly interesting. My one complaint was that a few hours ago we were told not to talk around the question or pretend that you know what you’re saying when you don’t know an answer to a question by Dr. Leadbeater, but Miss Rachel did that in her Q&A session, which we all found very comical.

    4. The food was edible and surprisingly good Sunday night, but lunch and the snacks on Monday were weak. The expectations were set high from Sunday night and JSHS could not live up to them. THERE WAS NO COFFEE ON MONDAY AND IT WAS TERRIBLE. JSHS let me down.

    5. I did not have time to visit other student’s posters because I had people at my poster the entire exhibition time and I was hunting for coffee during the time we were allowed to see the competition posters.

    6. The oral presenter that I enjoyed the most was the girl who looked in to new treatment for osteoarthritis. I found this the most interesting because I understood the majority of it and the results could be used to help many people in the future, especially since many people have this disease.

    7. I am interested in attending 2016 JSHS, but if I do get in, I now know to bring my own coffee for day 2.

    8. To improve JSHS I would suggest informing the kids participating in the fair more on what exactly is happening during the two days. I did not know if I needed to bring my poster and present again for the second day, and from the information given to me, there was no way to tell. I also suggest having half of the oral presenters present one day and the other half the second day, because nearly 4 hours of presentations is hard to watch. Also, having free coffee on the second day is necessary.

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  8. Anna Ryack
    1. What was your overall impression of the 2 day event? Comment specifically about the agenda of each day separately.
    While JSHS was a wonderful experience on both days, I preferred the first day over the second. The second day, I felt that participants were able to mingle a little more, and it was more interactive. The second day, like many others said, was very tiring! As much as I love listening to other people present their research, 15 presentations is a lot for one day, even with breaks! I enjoyed my lab tour though 
    2. What did you think of the first Keynote Speaker, Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater, regarding delivering effective presentations?
    I really enjoyed Dr. Leadbeater’s presentation! I feel that it was very engaging, but also helpful and appropriate, as many of us had to go on to present our research at some point on Sunday or Monday! His tips were also just very useful skills to use outside of science research presentations too.
    3. What did you think of the second Keynote Speaker, Miss Rachel, about the future of Commercial Space Transportation?
    While I find the topic of Commercial Space Transportation very interesting, I didn’t really like Miss Rachel’s presentation. In fact, it felt kind of awkward to watch. I would’ve enjoyed learning a little more about the facts behind it, rather than being told over and over to “follow my dream”. However, it was very clear she was passionate about what she was speaking, and it’s always nice to see somebody so excited about their future.
    4. How was the food (dinner Sunday, lunch Monday, snacks)?
    The food was nice. I think the people who organized the fair did a good job of making sure there were enough options and plenty of food for all the hungry teenagers! (Feeding a room full of hungry teenagers and teachers is a daunting task, so props to them!)
    5. Did you visit other student's posters? If so, which one left the most lasting impression?
    I didn’t have much time to visit other students’ posters/listen to them present. I wanted too, but as soon as I entered the hall, there were already people at my poster! I had a little time to glance at the competitive posters on Monday, but not enough to remember any of the titles.
    6. Which oral presentation did you enjoy most?
    I really enjoyed the presentation from the girl about Zebra Mussels. I found her project clear and easy to follow, but I could also tell that she put a lot of work into it. I think it has huge implications too, as she pointed out, invasive species are a huge problem! On top of that, the speaker had excellent presentation skills.
    7. Are you interested in attending 2016 JSHS? Why or why not?
    I am definitely interested in attending JSHS 2016. I really enjoyed seeing other participants work, getting to tour a lab, and getting to share my own project too. The fair was very well done and enjoyable, and it might be even better next year!
    8. Improvements to JSHS overall? Things you loved?
    If I were to change anything about JSHS, I would definitely work on providing better information to participants about the schedule of the fair, as well as general activity/planning. Going into the fair I really didn’t know what to expect, and at times I lacked instruction and was unsure what to do (ex. Leave my poster or take it with me). I would also try to split up the oral presentations somehow. 15 presentations in a row is a bit much! I really liked my lab tour! I got to go to the biodiversity wing, and it was really fascinating!

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