The key to new life for your old frames
Primary 5 pupil impresses judges of Young Inventor's Award by recycling old spectacles into handy key hooks
TEN-year-old Guo Jing Xuan has a way with frames — spectacle frames, that is.
The Primary 5 pupil of Tao Nan School salvages frames from discarded spectacles and transforms them into handy little devices to hook your keys on.
That way, you always know where to find your pesky car keys that have an uncanny knack of disappearing into handbags.
Jing Xuan’s project so impressed the Tan Kah Kee Young Inventor’s Awards judges that they awarded her the silver medal and $2,000.
Associate Professor Lim Kah Bin of the National University of Singapore spoke for the panel of judges: " We were impressed because she used potentially-useless material — discarded spectacle frames — and managed to put it to good use in a coherent, aesthetic way."
"It’s a winning formula: You manage to identify a problem, then you come up with a solution that ~s workable and practical."
The Tan Kah Kee awards were launched in 1986 to encourage young people to generate inventive and innovative projects. It is open to Singaporeans and permanent residents who are below 35 years old.
This year, there were 377 student entries. In the open section, 151 projects competed for honours.
Prof Lim said: "The quality of the projects this year is quite good. We were all very impressed!"
Senior Minister of’ State (Education) Aline Won said, when she presented the awards: "Innovation and technology will be the key driving force to spearhead Singapore in the new economy, as we try to develop world-class capabilities in niche areas such as biomedical sciences, chemicals, electronics, and information and communication technology.
"To do that, we require individuals who are not only talented but are also resilient as they overcome obstacles along their path."
Jing Xuan will represent Singapore at the Exhibition of Asian Children’s Invention in Kitakyshu, Japan, later this year.
Raffles Institution team-mates Yau Wen Kien and Ser Jin, both 15, who spent months planning and building a prototype "unslammable door", will also be there.
Said Wen Kien: "We were brainstorming one day, when we suddenly heard a door slam."
An arrangement of hinges and locks on the door ensures that it can only click shut quietly.
But you can bet that if the idea is a winner, its creators will not keep quiet about it.
Source : The Sunday Times, Apr 01, 2001
Recycling Point Dot Com
(C) 2000 All Rights Reserved