| Biography |
|---|
| Claire Hunter, a grade 8 student in Dundas, Ontario is equally passionate about music and science. As a chorister in the Hamilton Children’s Choir, she has had the privilege of performing locally, nationally and internationally, and gets to spend a lot of time with both amateur and professional musicians. Claire brings her love of music to the laboratory, where she has investigated the physical and psychological effects of music. Her project Silent Music stems from both her personal awareness of the power of music to reduce anxiety, and conversations with a music-loving relative who has a severe hearing impairment. At the 2015 Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair, she was honoured to receive a Gold Medal, the Dr. Nicola Simmons Award for Cognition Studies, the Roy Middleton Award for Best Junior Project, the Canada Wide Science Fair Trip Award and the ArcelorMittal Pinnacle Award for Second Best in Fair. Her advice to budding science fair students – “The best projects come from saying, “I wonder…” “Throw yourself into a topic that you are truly curious about. Don’t be afraid to investigate what might at first seem like a crazy idea.” Claire’s ideal career would combine her musical and scientific worlds. |
| Claire Hunter
Silent Music: A Novel Approach to Anxiety Reduction Using Tactile Sound
| Challenge: | Discovery | | Category: | Junior | | Region: | Bay Area | | City: | Dundas, ON | | School: | St. Augustine E.S. | | Abstract: | This project was undertaken to discover if anxiety could be reduced through the use of music converted into a purely tactile form. Using a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test to determine the effectiveness of this novel approach, the results suggest that this “silent music” has a direct, positive benefit by reducing anxiety, as measured by heart rate. The hypothesis was well supported. |
| Awards | Value | Excellence Award - Junior
Silver Medal
Sponsor: Youth Science Canada | | Western University Scholarship
Silver Medallist - $2000 Entrance Scholarship
Sponsor: Western University | $2 000.00 | | Total | $2 000.00 | |
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