Three Cape Town pupils have been selected to take part in the Intel International Science Fair in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in America, from Sunday May 13 to Saturday May 19.
The young pupils had an opportunity to present their projects ahead of their trip at Bishops in Rondebosch last Tuesday.
The projects had environmental, technological and engineering themes. Franks Smuts, a Grade 12 pupil from Parklands College, spoke on Schlieren Photography, which is used to measure the density of air flow.
It will be his first trip overseas.
Chase Newel, a Grade 12 from Pinelands High School, displayed an ankle induction coil cellphone charger which can come in really handy for charging your cellphones.
“Basically the more an individual walks or runs with the device attached to your ankle, the more energy is used and that energy charge can be stored and used for later purposes to charge your devices,” said Chase.
Gabriele Gess, a Grade 12 pupil from St Cyprians, presented a project on how honey bees can survive during the dry months.
It is based on determining the availability of pollen sources for honeybees on deciduous fruit farms during summer. She is looking forward to her trip abroad.
“I am really excited, I am proudly representing South Africa, my school, my friends and especially my parents, they gave me a lot of support,”said Ms Gess.
Olga Peel, a regional science director who worked with the Eskom Cape Town Expo for Young Scientists 2018 to select these pupils, spoke about what they can expect in the competition.
“They can expect nine or more judges in one day which is heavy. They can expect to have a lot of fun because the part of going there is not only serious but to enjoy the country that you are going to,” said Ms Peel.
