Cobham Intermediate student Hilary McConnell is Canterbury/Westland's top young scientist/technologist. Hilary won the Best in Fair prize from over 300 entries in the 2003 Lincoln University Canterbury Westland Science and Technology Fair judged today (Sunday 17 Aug.) in the Christchurch Convention Centre.
Hilary wins a three-year fees scholarship tenable at either Lincoln University or Canterbury Polytechnic Institute of Technology when she is ready to go on to tertiary study.
Her entry which won her the top prize was called "Fish Feeder" and it was a device she designed and invented which will automatically feed her pet goldfish twice a day while she is on holiday.
The device uses a clock mechanism and feeding slide which delivers food pellets to the fish on a timed basis. Chief Judge Dr Jonathan Hickford of Lincoln University described Hilary's entry as "elegant in its simplicity".
Runners-up, winning the Second Best in Fair prize of $400 sponsored by Crop and Food Research Ltd, were Chantelle Te Haara and Tamara Kerr of Manning Intermediate School.
Their entry was called "Water Worries" and it concerned an investigation to find out whether the health of the Heathcote River has improved with the Christchurch City Council's plantings along the riverbanks.
Carrying out research over a 15-month period they found "conclusive evidence" that in the particular areas where extensive plantings had been made the health of the Heathcote River - measured in ecological and water quality terms - had improved.
The Third Best in Fair prize of $200 sponsored by Lincoln University went to Remi Martin and Gareth Falkingham of Lincoln High School for their entry "The Self-Pasting Toothbrush".
This entry also won the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology award for the "Most Commercially Viable Inventions Award".
Remi, the inventor of the toothbrush, described his product as ideal for travelling, hygienic ("no more wiping your toothbrush over a dirty nozzle") and a space saver that leaves no waste ("no more lumps of toothpaste in the basin").
The Environment Canterbury prizes for Best Junior entry and Best Senior were won by Harry Teeling of Cobham Intermediate (Best Junior) and Natalie Crimp (Best Senior) of Linwood College. It was repeat success in this category for Natalie who was last year's Environment Canterbury Senior winner and also the 2002 overall Best in Fair winner.
Harry's entry concerned the generation of electricity by wave power on New Zealand's hydro lakes. It was called "Wind Water = Waves Energy". His conclusion was that it would be possible but not efficient as the necessary wind speeds blow for only 13% of the year.
Natalie's entry, called "Disposing Disposables" investigated the practical and economic feasibility of composting the organic matter in disposable nappies and recycling the non-organic material as a way of reducing the rubbish entering landfills.
She showed that her proposal would in fact be both practical and economically sound.
Chief Judge of the fair Dr Jonathan Hickford of Lincoln University said the standard of entries continued to rise and this year they showed a lot of thinking "outside the square".
With intermediate schools taking first and second prizes in the Best in Fair category there was obviously good strength in science and technology at the junior levels, which boded well for the future, he said.
For further information contact
Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury
Tel: (03) 3252811 ext 8549.
Email: Ian Collins