A Grade 7 student from southwestern Manitoba is heading to Ottawa, after beating out hundreds of other students for the top prize in a regional science fair in Brandon earlier this week.
Abereham Moges’s project “Mood Food: A Comprehensive Study Investigating the Impact of Nutrient-Rich Snacks on Cognitive Performance, Productivity and Mental Well-Being” took the best in fair honours at the Western Manitoba Science Fair on Tuesday.
Abereham, from Christian Heritage School in Brandon, competed against 368 students in grades 1 through 12, who showed off 258 different science projects.
His project focused on how foods with different nutrient levels impact cognitive performance in areas like reaction time, memory and processing speed — and he says he didn’t expect it to win.
“I was super surprised,” Abereham told CBC Manitoba Radio Noon host Janet Stewart after the fair. “I was shaking of excitement. It was completely unexpected.”
In a recording of the ceremony posted by the Western Manitoba Science Fair, Abereham is seen standing in open-mouthed shock after walking to the front of the room during the award ceremony. A smile spread across his face after being handed his award to a round of cheers from the crowd.
Now, Abereham will be going to Ottawa for a week in May to represent Manitoba at the Canada Wide Science Fair — the largest science event for youth in the country.
Abereham will compete against 500 other Grade 7 to 12 students.
“It feels pretty great to be around other scientists just like me — young but really brilliant,” Abereham said.
The inspiration for his project came from an interaction with his older brother, Yisak.
“Me and my brother were playing chess one day after school and he had won two games, which was very unusual to me,” Abereham explained to Radio Noon in an earlier interview, before his win.
Their mom told them they had leftover snacks from school, so they ate them. Abereham had orange slices while his brother ate chips.
“I won three games after that and that got me thinking, ‘Do nutrients really affect brain health and cognitive function?'”
Abereham’s research suggests that almonds seem to have the most positive impact on cognitive performance, which he believes is because of their high levels of magnesium.
He said he plans to widen his sample size before taking his project to the national level. He only has 40 participants so far but has already started working on improving his research, said his dad, Abebaw Moges.
He said his son has always been interested in mathematics and science, and hopes to pursue a career in neuroscience.
“His plan is big now.… All the time he is talking about how to be a scientist. We want to help him to get to his goal,” he said.
“Now, our goal is to win the next [fair].”
The Canada Wide Science Fair will be held from May 25 to June 1 this year.