Small people, big ideas: kids win award for flood solution
Cambodia suffers from severe annual flooding, and many people who can’t swim die every year as a result. An innovative solution to the generations-old problem may have been found, not by policy hacks or scientists, but by children.
A group of 11-year-olds from Cambodia’s one-of-a-kind Liger Learning Centre were recognised for their achievement at a robotics and problem-solving competition in Singapore over the weekend.
At the regional First Lego League competition – a global program designed to get children excited about science and technology – the team of six walked away with second place in the research innovations category. …
The problem is that swimming pools are very expensive, his team realised. A cheap solution had to be found.
“[Our idea] is to plant water hyacinth plants [around it] because it is free and there is a lot in Cambodia.… It’s safe because it won’t be chlorinated and the plants will [naturally] filter and clean the water,” Ketya added.
The competition’s theme this year was natural disasters and involved programming and navigating robots around a model “disaster” table to simulate recovery efforts. …
The group of pre-teens, who returned triumphantly to their peers on Monday, will be bringing home ideas more befitting of scientists or engineers than primary school students. And one or two simpler stories to share. …
Kevin Ponniah
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/lifestyle/small-people-big-ideas-kids-win-award-flood-solution
