Science and technology Fair |11 November 2022
Students showcase their scientific flair and skills
The 20th Science and Technology Fair opened yesterday with various amazing projects from primary and secondary students.
Their works were displayed at the Ministry of Education hall and at the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (SITE).
On the primary side, the Baie Lazare school presented a comprehensive project on the vegetative propagation of Irish potatoes. The students and their teacher – Jaden Francourt, Mathius Ismael, Brad Hoareau, Clement Hamuhuma and Janice Payet – actually implemented the project in the garden of their school. They documented each step of their project and brought in some of the potatoes harvested.
Perseverance North primary school presented three projects: ‘Diaper gel to super soil’ is a project presented by Kampamba Songwe and her mother Mutale Songwe; ‘Sustainability and free electricity’ presented by Dautria Malcouzane and her dad Dave Malcouzane and ‘The effects of Covid-19 on the respiratory system’ by Godfrey Musa and Pamela Mapulanga.
One project that caught the eyes of many was by Plaisance primary on the ‘Lemon Powered Battery’ presented by Jaden Dugasse, Shavin Bonne, Hailey Mohammed, Thushita Mohan, Athan Moustache, Tyler Rosalie and Sir Steve Auguste. The group used lemon to generate power for a toy car to move on a track.
The students of Anse Boileau – Alikah Cupidon, Paul Govinden, Estelle Anacoura, Abigail Cassime and their teacher France Rignace presented a project on ‘River the source of life’. They were explaining how important it was to take care of our rivers and how important it was to preserve our rivers.
Another project presented by Anse Boileau was ‘Healthy Eating + Healthy Lifestyle = Healthier People’. The students brought in all the unhealthy snacks and drinks and explained to the public how important it was to lead a healthy lifestyle.
There were only four projects from the secondary schools: two from Anse Boileau on Solar PV and Climate Change; ‘Recycling of fans’ presented by Belonie and ‘Future Cable Car Seychelles’ by Ile Perseverance.
Vicky Michel, secretary-general for the Seychelles National Commission for Unesco, welcomed the students on behalf of the director general of Unesco on the occasion of World Science Day for Peace and Development.
“Science does indeed have the potential to change our world by making it more sustainable. For example, climate modelling gives decision-makers insights into ways of limiting the impact of climate disruption. Biomass, green hydrogen, carbon capture and electric cars offer promising solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But to explore these opportunities, scientists need access to data and information, they need finance and equipment to carry out research. They need to collaborate with their peers to accelerate progress, while bridging technological and knowledge gaps within and between countries. They need to engage with society.”
Unesco also promotes gender equality and they are working proactively to get more girls and women into scientific fields.
Principal secretary Merna Eulentin noted that the science fair engages our teachers and learners from all educational institutions into preparing, creating and tapping into students’ creativity and scientific knowledge to produce various projects.
“This parallels with the Ministry of Education’s intent to create a system of education that motivates learners to perform and successfully achieve their best, enthuses the professionals’ eagerness to teach and support the learners and stimulates partners to collaborate through co-curricular and enrichment activities,” she noted.
PS Eulentin also added that the science fair provides the students opportunities to apply the scientific knowledge and methods in conducting independent research and it is a challenging and motivating way for students to learn.
The winners will be announced today in a short ceremony at SITE.
The accompanying photos show some of the projects on display at the fair.
Vidya Gappy
Photos by Louis Toussaint
