“The reason why I chose this project is because we need to have more information about tsunami, its effect on the lives of people and it is also a current event,” says the 12th grader of Tinian Junior-Senior High School.
On Saturday, Shrestha’s “The Science Behind Tsunami” took the top prize in the 9th-12th grade category in the two-day CNMI-wide 2011 Science Technology Electronic Mathematics Fair.
Four other winners were chosen from each category: Koblerville Elementary School’s Keona Rogapes’ “The Harm of Smoking,” which topped the kindergarten-1st grade category; Mt. Carmel High School’s Lleyton Javier’s “Solar Power Rover,” 2nd-3rd grade category; and KoES student Hyun Joung Ahn’s Mouse Trap Car Project, 6th-8th grade category.
There were 164 project-entries from public and private schools.
“The participation of our students is an indication of their interest in science, technology, electronics and math . There is so much to learn in every entry offered by our students,” said Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan.
The STEM Fair, she added, is designed to allow students to “further investigate the sciences and invent things related to technology, electronics and mathematics.”
In her project, which was under the Earth Science Category, Shresta explained that the islands “are not usually in danger” of a tsunami “because of its land formation.”
But she said educational and information awareness is still needed to ensure that lives will be saved and that “we are prepared and ready all the time.”
In “The Harm Of Smoking Project” of Keona Rogopes used a plastic bottle and made a hole in it with cotton placed inside.
A lighted cigarette was placed outside the bottle. The bottle depicted the lungs exposed to smoking.
Accompanied by data and graphs, the project, which was under the Health and Nutrition Category, showed how “black smoke” cuts short the lungs’ life span.
Hyun Joung Ahn’s Mouse Trap Car is an innovative approach to technology and electronics.
The Koblerville Elementary School student used recycled materials like old CD’s, string, and chopstick in creating a non-battery operated toy car shaped like a mouse.
