Innovation Celebrated at the NamPower National Science Fair

The NamPower National Science Fair was a fun affair last week, as future scientists and engineers from all over the country gathered in Windhoek to celebrate all things science.

From crafty robots to testing the state of water in towns in Namibia, the public were able to view creative gizmos and gadgets, which spawned international interest, including the creation of Simon Petrus, which allows you to make phone calls without a sim card. YouthPaper was in attendance and spoke to a number of pupils who shared their findings.

The Opening

Held on Tuesday, 6 September, the official opening of the NamPower National Science Fair took place at Safari Hotel in Windhoek with Albrie Redman from Windhoek Gymnasium delivering an opening prayer. To officially open the event, Lucia Hiveluah, chairperson of the organising committee of the science fair, delivered welcoming remarks, sharing an important message with the audience as well.

“For the first time, we have all 14 regions represented at here. At the NamPower Foundation, we pride ourselves in supporting projects,” she said. “We are proud to see it has grown from strength to strength. Education is one of the focus areas of the foundation.”

Encouraging the competitors to consider themselves as winners even if they lose, Lucia said that the pupils being there was already more than enough.

Special guests from South Africa were also in attendance.

Delivering the keynote address was Gerard Vries, the director of education, arts and culture for the Khomas region.

“Science fairs in Namibia have a history of 20 years. It is very gratifying to see brilliant young scientists. It is also impressive to see the innovations portrayed here. I would like to encourage teachers to always encourage their pupils,” he said. “The science fair has inspired hundreds of young people. It is necessary that young people must think deeply.”

Thanks to the co-operation of NamPower and the National Commission on Research Science and Technology creating this platform, Vries said, people had the opportunity to see how science truly plays an important role in our lives. With a quote to remember, one of the most standout statements he made was this: “School children are innovators of tomorrow”.

The Projects

Designed to separate the primary school competitors from the secondary school competitors, the public could easily walk into the conference centre, thanks to the guidance of pupils dressed in Science Fair shirts hanging about, and what a display! Colourful posters were placed in sections, separating one pupil’s project from another, and it was a wonderful opportunity to engage with the competitors.

Right at the entrance, Annemie Harms, a 13-year-old pupil from Otjiwarongo, shared the details of her project which demonstrated how cross-breeding cattle showed better results.

“I basically had three cattle groups and took 10 cows out of every group,” she said. “I calculated every group and the cross between the Brahman cross (Simbra type) cow with the Bonsmara bull was the best.” In fact, this project took seven months to complete and as to how she got her resources, Annemie mentioned how it was easy because she lives on a farm.

Not too far away, the quiet but well-spoken Berhane Wheeler from Amazing Kids Primary School stood proudly to welcome guests and demonstrate how a game she created worked. Named The Heroes of Namibia, this game allowed pupils to understand Namibia’s history.

“I downloaded a makeshift game studio and got a standard license for less than N$300. Then, I painted pictures of my game and put information in it. I recorded my voice as well and surveyed two classes to see if my game would improve their knowledge.” And most of them did, she said.

It takes about three levels to defeat the ‘colonisers’ and although not yet available for playing, with a bit of work done, she’s determined to knock Candy Crush off its throne.

Although busy at first, it didn’t take long for Tanatsa Chirodzero’s face to light up the moment we asked about her project, which asks the question: Do boys do better in maths than girls? Her answer: “Boys are actually proven to do better than girls.” Based on thorough research and testing a number of people, the result was clear as day.

But in no way does it mean that the capabilities of women are lower. “We all have the same abilities, but if girls would just be more serious then they would do quite well.”

After a short walk through the stalls, you’ll see projects about epilepsy which share what can go wrong with the brain and the effects of drugs and alcohol on teenagers’ brains.

In the next room, the secondary school pupils were very excited to share their knowledge and Aili Johannes from St Joseph’s Roman Catholic High School (Döbra) was eager to speak.

Despite the major projects, the one that garnered the most attention was a project by Simon Petrus. Simon, a pupil from Abraham Iyambo Senior Secondary School in the Ohangwena region, has been in the news for about a month now for creating an all-in-one phone/radio/television/air conditioner. Known as the non-creditable phone Zuma (NCP Zuma), named after himself, this phone is special because it operates without a battery.

“It took me five years to make,” Simon said. “Some of the materials I bought and some I collected from scraps.” When asked what drove him to make this project, he had this to say: “My main aim is to create things which other people have never invented before. I want to meet the mission and vision of our country by developing the project.”

He said that everyone needs to have this kind of machine because of the options it offers and benefits it has. Challenging the hypotheses ‘can a phone operate without credit and an expired card?’, ‘can a battery, motor and generator be used that can induce electrical current?’ and ‘can a television set be made from a radio system?’, the NCP Zuma proves that anything is possible.

All in all, it was a week of innovation and inspiration.

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