Young scientists show innovation at science fair

Grade 4 to 11 learners of Mitchell House took the opportunity to showcase their science and technology projects at the school’s 2019 Science Fair that was hosted in the nutrition centre last Wednesday.
“The object of the event was to discover a love for Science, to develop an enquiring mind and to be curious about the fascinating world around us,” Mitchell House educator and convenor of the fair, Kerry Spratt said and added that the event was designed to ignite a passion for Science and Technology in the young learners.
With more than 60 projects on show, the learners competed in four groups with different categories ranging from pure science and investigation to life skills and design and engineering. With the current challenges faced by the community, a number of projects covered topics which included the re-using of grey water, solar heating methods as well as a very interesting water saving and composting toilet by two bright young scientists. A vibrating alarm for deaf people also invited a lot of interest.
The contestants had to think of a question and then develop a hypothesis by following a scientific method and be able to conduct a fair test either to prove or disprove their hypothesis. In order to do this, the learners needed to have a good understanding of how to conduct a fair test and how to control their variables, according to Spratt.
“In another category, the learners had to build or develop a product designed to solve a need. They had to follow a technological or engineering process which includes research, design, making and most importantly, evaluating their product at each stage,” Spratt explained.

Story and photos: BARRY VILJOEN
>>barryv.observer@gmail.com