2013
12th Elementz Science Project Competition and Exhibition
Project : Flop Breeding, Stop Bleeding 2013
(P3/4 category) Gold Award
A team of four Primary four pupils was alerted when they saw soar in the number of dengue fever cases in 2013. They took on an investigative approach to find out how stagnant water, the breeding ground of Aedes mosquito, can be more effectively removed using different biodegradable sponge so as to reduce the spread of Ades mosquitoes.
The team conducted experiments to examine the absorbency of three biodegradable sponges namely: cellulose sponge (100% natural material which is originated from pulp and natural fibre); eco-friendly sponge (use of natural components derived from renewable sources) and Greener Clean Absorbent sponge (made from 100% plant-based fibres and with 23% recycled materials).
Results showed that greener clean sponge absorbs the most amount of water since it has the most and largest air spaces. The team used the sponge to effectively absorbed stagnant water in overlays of leaves, flower pot plates as well as to stuff it around the brim of flower vase to prevent mosquito from laying eggs in the vase. The team won the Gold with Presentation award and this has definitely made learning of Science more meaningful for the team.
12th Elementz Science Project Competition and Exhibition
Project : Bacteria Terminator
(P5/6 category) Bronze Award
Bacterial infection is one of the most common causes of illnesses in children and adults. As such, there are a myriad of anti-bacteria soap brands available in the market that claim to be 99.9% effective in inhabiting the growth of bacteria.
Four curious Primary Six pupils were interested in finding out about which hand soap brand is best in inhibiting the growth of bacteria. They selected 6 different brands of hand soap namely: Dettol, Lifebuoy, Follow Me, NTUC, Walch and Kirei Kirei bought from a local supermarket. They adopted an investigative approach in their project by applying each type of soap onto agar plates swapped with bacteria.
They then measured the diameter of the zone inhibited by the bacteria for each brand of hand soap after three days.
Results showed that ‘Follow Me’ hand soap is best in inhabiting the growth of bacteria as it has the greatest area of inhibition compared to the other five.
12th Elementz Science Project Competition and Exhibition
Project : Eco- Enzymes
(P5/6 category) Silver award
Intrigued by the claims that garbage enzyme can be used for many purposes such as a cleaning agent, insect repellent and fertilizer and the fact that we can change food waste into something useful, our Life Science Ambassadors embarked on a project to test out the some of the claims.
3 awards at the Skyrise Greenery Awards (SGA) 2013 by N Parks
Excellence Award
Special Award – Best Innovation & Best DIY Project
MOE Innergy Awards – Gold
Most Innovative Project/Policy category for PS21 ExCEL Convention 2013 –Silver Award
Our soilless green wall which was designed and grown by students and teachers of Hougang Primary is an innovative and cheaper alternative to those found commercially. Our green wall is easy to install and does not require complicated technical skills to maintain. We created this wall as we have already used up the available plots in the school to create small gardens. In view of global warming and the space constraints in the land-scarce Singapore, we want to introduce alternative gardening to our pupils. Our green wall has a dual advantage in schools as it serves as a learning infrastructure and a solution to cool classrooms and provide a comfortable learning environment for students.
