The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) launched its eighth annual Science and Technology Exposition at the Golf View Hotel recently under the theme “Green Technology for Survival”.
The exposition, which is staged in collaboration with the Scientific Research Council (SRC) and the Association of Science Teachers of Jamaica, affords students of all levels, the opportunity to showcase their inventions, improvements on previous inventions or creative applications of ideas. The Mandeville leg of the exposition is the first of three planned, with the other two slated for Montego Bay and Kingston in March and April, respectively.
A national hosting of the top innovations and displays will be at the National Arena over a two day period, April 29 to 30.
JPSCO‘s Communication Officer, Audrey Williams, said this came about because of the “overwhelming demand and popularity” of the annual event. The National Arena she said will allow for greater comfort and better accommodation of all the planned activities.
She said emphasis will be placed on most innovative, best use of indigenous materials and best illustration of energy use.
Twenty six displays were mounted by 20 schools which participated with most highlighting the use of alternative energy and agricultural production and associated industrial products. Some displays, like that of May Pen Primary School, focused on producing products, such as soap, with alternative inputs that would see a cut in production cost when compared to their traditional counterparts. Wayne Spalding and Shantal Cameron, two 6th grade students of May Pen Primary, said they produced a liquid soap using grated ackee as the main ingredient. Their teachers, Miss Loraine Grizzle and Mr. Samuel Morrison, told the Gleaner that the use of ackee soap, which was first used in world war two, could save their school as much as $7,500 per month in purchases.
Garvey Maceo Comprehensive High School, DeCarteret College and Brown’s Town High schools walked away with the top prizes, securing their places in the upcoming national final salted for April.
DeCarteret College’s project, demonstrated the use of sugar cane trash as a raw material to manufacture paper. The school displayed two samples of paper made from cane trash, one which can be used as a substitute for Styrofoam and breaks down in 15 days oppose to the 30 years needed for Styrofoam once discarded. Brown’s Town High school presented several innovative ways to utilise the wild growing guinea corn which included the making of popcorn, animal feed, corn oil and ethanol production.
Other top prize winners included Kilsyth Primary School which coped the prize for its use of the fruit commonly known as “tinking toe’ to create a high energy drink.
