Research Presentations at the LISC Competition

On April 19, the North Shore Science Research team competed in the LISC competition, also known as the Long Island Science Congress. The research team presented a variety of projects, ranging from social science, behavioral science, astronomy, environmental science, botany, physics, and more. Each of the eleven students on the science research team spent months planning their projects, conducting the experiments, documenting their data, putting together abstracts and research reports, organizing the information onto a poster, and finally, practicing speeches for the big day.

Upon the arrival at Walt Whitman High School, where the competition took place, our team saw a variety of students, projects, and schools. Each of them set up their boards and waited to be judged. There were three rounds of judging in total, and each round was judged by a different science teacher. Aside from presenting the work, many of the judges asked follow-up questions. The judges graded the projects based on a thorough rubric, so it was crucial that one got all of the main points down when presenting. After completing the three rounds of judging, the research students had the privilege of seeing over five hundred other projects at the competition. This not only gave them a chance to connect with other researchers but also inspired them with new ideas for projects for next year. I and the rest of the research students could all agree that the LISC competition was a sensational and revitalizing experience, and it was something that would not have been made possible without the help of Mr. Choudhury and Mr. Wykes. Elisheva Lemonik, a sophomore and research student, says, “It was really cool! There were so many projects and so many people all coming together to share an appreciation for science."

There was also a research roundup held on May 15 after school, with the purpose of giving the research students their last chance to present projects before wrapping up this season of research, as well as inspiring the students who attended to join science research. The roundup was a truly remarkable experience, as it was the first time all the research students presented in front of each other. Whether or not one brings a trophy home for winning LISC, science research this year was an incredible experience for those who participated, and it can be agreed that we learned a lot from each other, our instructors, and the schools we competed against.