Grade Category: Grades 7 to 9

Team Size: 1 person

Subject Area: Earth/Energy/Environmental Sciences.

Project Type: Descriptive

Language: English

Summary: The CANDU reactor is a Canadian nuclear power generator that uses uranium and heavy water to turn turbines that generate electricity. CANDU is one of the safest nuclear reactors in the world, and supplies fifteen percent of Canada’s energy. It is a clean solution to electricity from fossil fuels, and is generally inexpensive. This project will look into the pros and cons of CANDU, the way it works, its history, and its economical and environmental impact.

Software Tools: I began this project by taking notes in the outline view of the program Inspiration 7. I then converted these notes into a descriptive text using Microsoft Word.
The movie began with a script that was also made in Microsoft Word, and the images were imported into a free Microsoft program called Photostory 3. In this program, I set up transitions and added my voice as narration. The Photostory was than saved as a .wmv file and imported into Microsoft Movie Maker. In this program I added titles and refrences by saving slides that I created in Microsoft Power Point as .jpg files, and importing them into Movie Maker. I also used Movie Maker to create credits. I then exported that as a .wmv file and put it in the website.
In order to save files as .pdf, I used a software provided by my teacher called Cute PDF Writer. This program prints files as .pdf.
In order to make the website I used a program that was also provided by my teacher called WYSIWYG Web Builder. This program is very simple and allows you to put together a website neatly and easily.
In order to research my topic and preview my website I used Internet Explorer 7

Hardware Tools used: I did all my work on an IBM ThinkPad T42

Source of the Idea: I discussed the project with my father, and he recommended this topic as a good example of Canadian science. Since it fit perfectly with the guidelines, I stuck with the idea to create this project.

Special Skills: None

Awards won: None

Links to any past Virtual Science Fair project: None

Project Information