Science Fair Success!

Some parents might cringe when they hear this, but young gamers will likely
cheer in delight. A recent Science Fair project found that video gaming may improve the long-term memory. Jonathan Vella, a 12 year old Grade 7 student at Calvin Christian School found that after having 4 of his school mates game over a 10 day period, their memory was not affected and in fact, may have improved with time. The 4 students and Jonathan memorized an unfamiliar Bible passage and were asked to randomly recite it during the 10 days. This was measured up against a Control Subject who did not game during the testing period. In the last few years, a number of studies were conducted regarding short-term or ‘working’ memory and most found that there was an improvement in cognitive skills and working memory that could be related to gaming. In Jonathan’s testing, the types of gaming that each test subject played were a mixture of adventure & fighting, role playing games (RPG), racing, free roaming and simulation. Also, a variety of devices were used for gaming, such as a desktop and laptop computer, smaller screens such as an iPad, iPhone, and iPod, as well as a Play Station (PS) or Wii on a larger monitor or television screen. Entered in the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair (BASEF) held at Mohawk College in Hamilton, ON, March 26-28, Jonathan’s project and work impressed the Judges and had many young players and their parents visiting the display. The reception brought cheers from the young and jeers from some Moms and Dads, with one parent asking Jonathan if the project was sponsored by a game manufacturer. Most parents were actually pleased, if not relieved, that their children are receiving an indirect benefit from their gaming time. While Jonathan’s project highlighted a positive conclusion, Jonathan was very sound in his thoughts towards video gaming and young players, commenting, “Just because my research has shown a benefit towards memory, this does not give an excuse for excessive game playing. Even fun things are best in moderation and everyone needs to understand that memory is a gift that helps us with learning. This gift should be respected and preserved.” Jonathan’s work was recognized by BASEF with a Bronze Merit Award on March 31 at the BASEF Awards Presentations, held at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario.

Congratulations on your science fair success, Jonathan!