Goulette Claims Top Spot at Science and Engineering Fair: Highlights and Innovations

WHS junior Kaitlynn Goulette took first place for her project on butterflies at the Science and Engineering Fair.

WESTFIELD — The Science and Engineering Fair at Westfield High School on January 30 was a huge success. The gym was filled with excitement as 214 students showcased their hard work. Among them were 66 students from Westfield Technical Academy.

WHS Principal Charles Jendrysik praised the participation from WTA students and highlighted how much he enjoys seeing students build on their previous projects. “It’s great to see the students excited about learning,” he said.

Kaitlynn Goulette won first place with her project titled “Analyzing the Effects of Different Lighting Types on Vanessa cardui Butterflies.” This fascinating study stems from her childhood interest in astronomy. When she was five, she and her dad used a telescope and noticed the issue of light pollution. They tried sodium lighting filters to block bright streetlights, but when the city switched to LED lights, those filters became ineffective.

This summer, while working at the Seymour Planetarium, Goulette learned about how light pollution affects human health, particularly our sleep cycles. Inspired by this, she decided to explore its effects on butterflies for her project.

Goulette raised butterflies from larvae and studied them under various lighting conditions. She had four cages with different light sources. The cage with LED lights performed poorly; these lights emit a lot of blue light, which is not suitable for the butterflies. Fluorescent lighting wasn’t much better, while incandescent light, which mimics natural light, produced the best results. Surprisingly, the butterflies under natural sunlight didn’t thrive as expected because sun exposure varies throughout the day.

She mentioned plans to refine her project next year, possibly exploring lightbulbs that imitate natural light more effectively. Last year, she had tried researching reproduction rates under LED lighting, but found little success.

Kaitlynn dreams of a career in astronomy and astrophysics and leads the WHS Astronomy Club. She is excited to be among 17 finalists moving on to the regional fair at Western New England University on March 7. Last year, her project on LED lighting also won an award.

The finalists who will represent Westfield at the regional fair include:

• First Place — Kaitlynn Goulette (WHS) — “Analyzing the Effects of Different Lighting Types on Vanessa cardui Butterflies”
• Second Place — Brandon Guyott and Justin Romanelli (WHS) — “Optimizing an After-Market Prototype That Operates a Window Remotely”
• Third Place — Giovanni Santaniello (WHS) — “The Solar Umbrella”

Other notable projects in the running are:

• Luke and Emily Bulan (WHS) — “Designing an Economical Multi-Purpose Care Blanket for Neonates — Part III”
• Isabella Chalmers (WHS) — “Testing Melatonin’s Effectiveness on Anti-Aging Through Plants”
• Teagan Chisholm-Godshalk (WHS) — “Skin Deep: Investigating How Product Knowledge and Social Media Influences Decision-Making”
• Liz Coach and Hannah Callini (WHS) — “How Different Hand Soaps Affect Bacterial Growth”
• Sydney Drugan (WHS) — “Finding the Best Material for a Volcanic Ash Field Cover”
• Makayla Ellis and Andy Liu (WHS) — “Slipper Shells for Slippery Slopes”
• Clara Hubbard (WHS) — “Unmasking the Data: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Different Materials in Preventing Bacterial Growth”
• Scarlet Karwoski (WHS) — “The Impact of Varied Environmental Temperature on Neocaridina davidi Reproduction Rate”
• Wyatt Lee and Carson Mayer (WTA) — “Two-Way Communication Link in Sub-GHz Band”
• Zach Maslar and Alec Piepergerdes (WHS) — “Does Artificial Grass Infill Release Heavy Metals?”
• Ben Miller (WHS) — “Road to Less Congestion”
• Meagan Nubile (WHS) — “Can Beeswax Wraps be an Alternative to Plastic Wraps?”
• Gabriella Scottoni and Matt Rothus (WTA) — “Making it Accessible – Scientific Hand Models”
• Makenzie Watt and Abby Jemiolo (WHS) — “Comparative Analysis of Sunscreen SPF Ratings and UV Protection.”