Jamaica's only Science and Technology Exposition for students attending primary to tertiary institutions, is set to kick off its 2009 series. The JPS Science and Technology Expo, which is held in collaboration with the Scientific Research Council and the Association of Science Teachers of Jamaica, is enjoying its sixth year, having started in 2003 as the Science Fair.

The 2009 Expo theme, which is 'Science and Technology: Energy, Environment and Enterprise', will afford science students the opportunity to unveil inventions, innovations and scientific displays, which they can use to promote national development as well as improve the world around them.

The displays will be showcased at three regional expos, the best of which will go on to the national finals, to contend for top awards. The three regional expos will be held in Mandeville at the Golf View Hotel (February 19) in St Andrew at the Knutsford Court Hotel (March 12) and Montego Bay at the Wexford Court Hotel (April 2). The national finals will be held on April 30.

Special categories

While participants will compete for top places in their grades, there are also special categories in which the budding scientists will be recognised. These include Most Innovative Display, Best Use of Indigenous Material and Best Illustration of Energy Use.

Third place winners at the 2008 JPS Science and Technology Expo were Sunderland Primary School in St James with their seawater-powered battery, titled 'Seabat'. The youngsters generated electricity from their innovation.

Second-place winners were Brown's Town Community College in St Ann with their focus on alternative energy, titled 'Ethanol from King Grass - Why import oil when you can grow it?' King grass can be found, growing wild, in the Jamaican countryside.

First-place winners were Norman Manley High School, who impressed the team of judges with their solar-powered battery, on which they have since carried out further studies with intention to apply it to their school environment.

Other noteworthy displays from last year's expo included: Linstead Primary and Junior High's use of earthworms to produce fertiliser; recycling plastic to produce decorative tiles, by Lennon High School; an organic, environmentally friendly pesticide from Green Pond High in St James; a domestic ethanol-producing unit from Westwood High School in Trelawny; and a multiplicity of by-products from the cocoa pod such as treatment for sprains, insect repellent and vinegar, by Kilsyth Primary School in Clarendon.

This year's series is expected to yield a highly informative and interesting learning opportunity for members of the public. The public is invited to attend the expos free of cost.

Expo dates

Mandeville - February 19, Golf View Hotel

Kingston - March 12, Knutsford Court Hotel

Montego Bay - April 2, Wexford Court Hotel

National Finals - April 30, venue to be announced