Two Abbotsford kids are among four Fraser Valley students selected to participate in the Provincial Heritage Fair in Squamish this summer.
The students were chosen from among 121 kids in Grades 4 to 10 who participated in the recent Fraser Valley Regional Heritage Fair (FVRHF) at University of the Fraser Valley (UFV).
The Abbotsford pair who will take part in the provincial fair from July 4 to 8 are Emily Eberding from Prince Charles Elementary for her project My Papa’s Bush Mill and Ojasva Rajput from Dormick Park Elementary for his project Sir Frederick Banting: Canada’s Medical Science and War Hero.
Rajput also received the Peoples’ Choice Award for his project, while Sia Gulati of Dormick Park Elementary was selected as Students’ Choice for Best Project for her submission on Emily Carr.
Selected to join Eberding and Rajput at the provincials are Langley students Brett Wood from Noel Booth Elementary for Shattered Silence About the Halifax Explosion and Luna Yin from Dorothy Peacock Elementary for Maple Syrup.
The regional heritage fair involved students first selected from school and community fairs. Their projects were judged at UFV by 60 volunteers on areas such as Canadian historical significance, research methods, presentation and creativity.
In addition to the students chosen for the provincial fair, 10 students were awarded for projects that excelled in specific categories.
Kris Foulds, curator of historical collections at The Reach and FVRHF coordinator, said organizers were pleased with the increased participation this year.
She said the heritage-based program supports the current prescribed learning outcomes of the B.C. curriculum in social studies for Grades 4 to 10.
“Students engage in hands-on learning and develop research and communication skills, and they get to choose a topic on some aspect of Canadian history and present their findings to other students, adults and the public,” Foulds said.
“A fairs project can help students find their place in Canadian history, and instead of simply teaching history, the Heritage Fair program endeavours to create historians.”