NSTF Science Fair

Evgeny, Form 2 presenting the Robot LED

Newark school participated in this year's NSTF Science Competition, which was held at the Institute of Applied Science in the MCAST Main Campus on Corradino Hill, Paola. Four groups of students presented projects from Newark. The projects were presented at the Expo between the 5th and 11th of April. Though they had practiced their presentation at school, most of the students were very nervous whenever the first group visiting our stands approached. However they quickly gained confidence as they realised that they were talking about a project that they knew inside out. By the end of the day, the students were always thrilled to look back and realise that they had just spent a few hours talking to different people about their project, and answering any questions that they had. The judges visiting the stand were also particularly impressed with how bright the students were.

None of the projects won any prizes at the end of the day. This, however, did not dishearten our students. In fact the Form 1s are already making plans for what they want to do next year. I am sure that this was overall a very enriching and confidence-building experience for each student involved.

Maria, Form 1 setting up the EcoPlane 64

FORM 1

The two Form 1 groups were Matteo, Maria and Francois, who created a project called EcoPlane 64, and Mariam and Katerina, who created a project called 100Fast.

The original idea of the Form 1s was to make a plane which runs on solar energy, hence the "Eco" in the title. However when the students started building the project we quickly realised that it would be better to scale down to a normal battery-operated plane. The class first did research on the shapes of plane wings used in real-life, then used a simulator to learn the properties of wings which allow planes to fly. The excitement started to mount when they started building the plane in earnest. The students first drew the shape of the plane they wanted to build on pieces of cardboard. They made sure that the plane was symmetrical and that the proportions were appropriate. Next, they taped bendable pieces of wire to the bottom of the plane with tape, to make it stronger. They took care to use as little metal as possible, to keep the weight of the plane low. After a short interlude, during which we were waiting for some parts to be delivered from Hong Kong, the students started strapping the components to the plane. First on was the propeller, attached to the front of the plane by pieces of metal wire. The propeller also had a propeller-saver attached, to prevent the motor from breaking in case of a crash. Next up was the speed controller, which had to be soldered to the propeller and attached to the plane. 

Matteo, From 1 giving a presentation

Though their tutor did most of the soldering work, all the students tried their hand at soldering in class under supervision. The students then attached two servos, which were meant to control the flaps of the plane, to the two wings, again using metal wire. All the wires were then connected by the students to the wireless receiver, and everything was hooked up to a transformer for power. The whole setup was controlled by a tablet. Using an app, the students were able to change the speed of the propeller and to change the pitch of the flaps. Finally, once assembly testing was complete, the transformer was replaced by a battery. Unfortunately the planes did not manage to fly by a small margin, since the battery model bought was too heavy to carry. However the students were still very proud of their work, and felt a sense of achievement in having built something complex with their own hands.

FORM 2

The two Form 2 groups were Aleskej, Mohammed and Nuran, who built a robot called AMZ10000, and Moria, Melanie and Evgeny, who created a project called Robot LED.

Moyra, Melanie & Evgeny, Form 2

AMZ10000 was meant to be a model of the Mars rover. It was meant to write and move, but time constraints and the difficulty that the writing part entailed meant that this project also had to be downscaled. This robot also started as a flat piece of cardboard, upon which the students drew the robot and then cut it out. The model was reinforced with metal wire, at which point we realised that it was not going to be sturdy enough. So we changed the cardboard box for a larger, sturdier shoe-box. Four holes we made in very precise locations in the box, and metal bearings were placed in them. Metal shafts which had been sanded down to fit were then passed through the bearings. Two plastic wheels were then attached to the outside of each shaft, and they were stuck in position using superglue. On the inside of the box, the front shafts were connected to a gear which was connected to an electric motor, while the rear shafts were kept in position using cable ties and a piece of metal. The motors were connected to two pairs of batteries via two buttons using china connections. The tracks were then attached to the wheels. Once everything was setup, pressing the two buttons simultaneously caused the robot to move forward.

Alexsej, Mohammed & Nouran with the
AMZ100000

Robot LED, like the other projects, started off as a cardboard model. In this case though, the model was fitted with legs and a head. Next, the students inserted a number of LED lights into the front and head of the robot. The LED lights were connected to an Arduino chip using soldered pieces of wire which had been protected with heat-shrink and pieces of tape. Again, the supervisor did most of the soldering work, though each student had a go at soldering under supervision. Once everything was connected, the chip was programmed on a computer by the students themselves. Four batteries were then inserted, and the result was a beautiful blinking robot.

Evgeny, Form 2 trying out a
hydraulic arm

Congrats to all students on the projects.