Students Impress At
Science and Technology Fair
Story and Photos by Stan Bishop
Science and technology plays a
crucial role in our everyday lives.
Whether it’s getting a flu vaccine or
checking your WhatsApp messages
on your iPhone, some level of
innovation made it all possible. It all
starts with an idea and that’s where
the important role of inventors
comes in.
There was
definitely no shortage of innovation
when the Ministry of Education,
Innovation, Gender Relations and
Sustainable Development teamed
up with the Saint Lucia National
Science Association to host this
year’s National Schools’ Science &
Technology Fair.
The three-day event, held at Derek
Walcott Square from March 27-
29, had a focused theme: Building
Resilience Through Science and
Technology. Schoolchildren from
across the island showcased a vast
array of projects, competing in
various categories. They all seemed
poised to win and even inspired
and impressed many patrons who
applauded their efforts, especially
when they described their projects.
During the opening ceremony,
Giannetti George, Curriculum
Officer, Natural Sciences, said
science and technology is crucial
to us being resilient people,
adding that Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math helps
solve many everyday problems.
She encouraged the students to
become the world’s next batch of
pioneers.
“Do not think that you are too
young to be an innovator or find
the solution to a difficult societal
56 SL-YOU | Business, People & Lifestyle
problem,” she told the students.
“You have the answers and
sometimes we have to look to you.
Some of the very projects that
you are displaying at the Science
and Technology Fair can be the
solutions to some very difficult
situations we currently face.”
The Science and Technology Fair
showcased 49 of the best projects
from schools around the island.
This year, WASCO collaborated
with the Ministry of Education to
create a new category, dubbed
the WASCO Water Challenge, for
which students were encouraged
to develop projects relating to the
sourcing and supply of potable
water.
Feature speaker, Karlis Noel,
inventor of a water desalination
plant, told the students that
while he wasn’t a straight-A
student at school, he was an avid
reader of Popular Electronics and
Popular Science magazines, often
experimenting and re-creating what
he read.
www.slyoumag.com | July-August 2019