KARACHI: Over 100 private schools across the city impressed with their knowledge, innovation and craft at the inter-school Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) competition, organised by the Directorate of Private Schools, Government of Sindh, held at The Academy School in Nazimabad on Thursday.

The 400 science projects entered by the students included biodegradable plastics, piezoelectric models that generated electricity, dams that also generated electricity, robots and many models aimed at slowing the effects of climate change, sustainable processing, improving groundwater levels, cloud seeding and much more.

Fariha Mirza, a class 12 student from Pak-Turk Maarif Gulshan Campus, used agave sisalana (sisal leaves) to make biodegradable plastic. Mahnoor Javed, a class eight student from the same school, demonstrated through her model how pollution is affecting climate change, while Maria Wasim, also a class eight student from the school, created an impressive earthquake model that shook. From the boys` section of the same school, a team of three class six students, Mohammad Hafiz Siddiqui, Mohammad Shayan Khan and Mohammad Yahya Kamran, entered a piezoelectric playground where any kind of motion generated electricity.

A five-girl team from class seven of Trinity Methodist Girls Higher Secondary School Zainab Noor, Nishmaya John, Romesa Shahid, Hiba Siddiqui and Arwa Sami presented a fascinating and beautiful model of a dam from which energy was being generated to light up a city. They had created an entire city with roads, cars, light poles and more. The reservoir water was supplied by a water dispenser that the children had also brought with them.

Identical twins from class eight of The Intellect School, Mohammad Ali Sheikh and Mohammad Usman Sheikh, developed a sustainable processing and recharging plant to improve groundwater. The students explained that the plant could treat wastewater and return it to the ground to improve the quality and levels of groundwater.

Four students from Bahria Subh-i-Nau School (SNS), Muqaddas Shabbir and Sarah Bano from class eight and Eylia Zahra and Neha from class seven, created a beautiful model of massive clouds made from cotton wool, with a toy aeroplane flying above them to demonstrate cloud seeding for producing artificial rain.

Perhaps the most interesting entry in the entire exhibition and competition was Bob, the robot, presented by The Lab School`s five-member team, Usayd Omerson, Usman Asif, Musab Khan, Masharib Fahad and Sunain Sadiq. The robot was designed to assist people with work and ran on opensource AI and an Arduino Mega chip to control its movements. Bob could also be connected to a phone through a self-made app.

Not everything was scientific, though there was art, too. For example, students Ainah Aamir Khan and Hafsa Yasir from The Intellect School created a colourful model of the Faisal Mosque in truck art. `Colours are the base of happiness in life, sowhy not use them?` said Ainah.

Another colourful arty model was from The Academy`s Tahir Villa Campus team, Syed Tahmoor Jafri, Eshal Zahid, Aaliyan Asad, Mohammad Safi Khalid and Muneeb Ahmed, who used the art of origami to make hexagons in different colours, which they joined to resemble tents.The students explained that the shape and design of their model minimises space and promotes unity.

Later, Sindh`s Minister for Education and Literacy, Syed Sardar Ali Shah, expressed his happiness to see the students` entrees. He stated that such exhibitions and competitions would help promote science education in the province.