Greenwood High students unleash their scientific creativity at INVENIO 2018
Bangalore,From incredible models of drones for irrigation, automated water recycling unit, wearable piezoelectric devices, CarbFix, conservation of wildlife, solar robots for farming, Artificial Intelligence to detect deforestation, windmills to conserve energy, computer science and robotics models to various other innovative concepts, INVENIO 2018 witnessed a confluence of scientific
ideas to deal with important global issues. The students of Greenwood High International School celebrated INVENIO 2018- a science exhibition held at Sarjapur campus that was centered on the theme “Innovation for conservation”.One of the innovations was on building a material that would absorb Kinetic Energy and convert it to electric energy and the students made use of a piezoelectric generator for the same. Piezoelectricity is the phenomenon where material stress separates the charges in a piezoelectric material to create a potential difference across it. They set up these generators and attached them to a plate. Upon repeated impact on the plate, the generators charged up a capacitor enough to produce electricity to light an LED.
Another project focused on hydroponic systems which implemented growing plants without soil. The nutrients which were supposed to be obtained from the soil are provided for by the water in which the fish thrive. The use of water from a fish tank environment enabled the plants to absorb nutrients present in the fish excreta which would travel to the roots of the plants via water. The use of an alternative growth medium greatly reduces the pressure on soil and eliminates the need for external fertilizers, insecticides, weedicides and other such chemicals and thus eliminates ecological problems such as biological magnification.
One more group of five came up with an idea to harness the energy expended by people in gyms to create electrical energy that can power the gym equipment, making the gym self-sustaining, thereby helping to conserve energy. For the model they used a bicycle on a stand to imitate a stationary bike in the gym, and connected an AC generator to the back wheel. The motion of the wheel when the bicycle is pedalled turns the coil by the means of a belt connected to the axle of the wheel. The coil rotates in a magnetic field created by placing two strong magnets on either side of the coil. Electrical energy is generated in the circuit connected to the coil due to the Principle of Electromagnetic Induction. In their model they connected a bulb to the circuit.
Ms. Niru Agarwal, Trustee, Greenwood High International School, said, “I believe the scientific curiosity of children should be allowed to run free and not be tamed within the confines of a book. They should be encouraged to cultivate critical thinking and delve deeper to understand the technicalities of innovation. Through INVENIO, we try creating such a platform for our children to showcase their creativity”.
