Preservation of the country’s natural resources came under the spotlight at the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists regional science fair in Cape Town.
Held as part of the national science week, the event sought to enable 732 pupils from around the country to address the water and energy crisis.
They stood to win bursaries and scholarships from several universities and the private sector.
The pupils from 56 schools were divided into 24 categories that featured Grade 6 to 7 pupils (primary), Grade 8 to 9 pupils (junior), and Grade 10 to 12 pupils (seniors).
Among the 28 award recipients were pupils from Spine Road High School, International School of Cape Town, South Peninsula High, Wynberg Girls’ Junior, Herschel Girls’ High, Capricorn Primary, St Cyprians, Pinelands High School, Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck and Star College Bridgetown.
Kuyasa Primary School pupil Zandile Ntsolongo whose project tested the difference in freezing time between salt water and fresh water, said she enjoyed presenting her ideas to the judges.
“It’s so educational – they are really humble, inspirational and just great to be around,” she said.
Asmaa Elmowafi from Star College Cape Town was awarded a R30 000 bursary by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology for “Most Deserving Scholar” while Saamiyah van Niekerk from South Peninsula High School received a R15 000 ACP Publishing scholarship for “A Deserving Scholar”.
Ben Zieff of Herzlia High School received the Kevin Rochford award for Best Senior Project and Zara Nijzink-Laurie from Rustenberg Girls’ High School was awarded the John Crossland Award for Best Junior Project.
The Eskom Expo Best Female Winner went to Gabrielle Gess of St Cyprians for her project “How can honey bees survive in dry summer months?”.
The Eskom Expo Best Development Winner went to Yaseen Osman from Star College Bridgetown for his Math Attack project.
The Eskom Expo Best Energy Winner went to Asmaa Elmowafi from Star College Cape Town Primary and Girls School for the “Let’s add grooves to wind blades” project.
The expo Best Energy Efficiency Winner went to Pinelands High School’s Chase Newel for “The design and testing of an ankle induction coil cellphone charger” project.
The regional science fair director, Olga Peel, said: “The expo exposed bright young minds to look at solutions that help the environment around them, asking questions about what they see and figuring out how to fix the problems faced in society.
“The projects focused on conservation of water, techniques for preventing evaporation and water wastage.” –