Years 7-9 finalists
PA Raspberry Pi Awards 2023
This year, we challenged students to develop ingenious solutions in response to the theme: accelerating energy transition.
Out of the many innovative submissions by teams around the country, here are the finalist projects from years 7-9 students:
Da Bugz from Arthur Mellows Village College
Exploring sustainable rockets
Our team wanted something that would set us apart from other groups and to use a renewable fuel. We liked the idea of a rocket and searched up rockets' effects on the ecosystem. We focused on rockets using hydrogen and considered using water to represent it. We thought about what materials to make our rocket out of, and we decided to use plastic as it is lightweight and would most likely fly higher and give us better results. So, we got a plastic 2L bottle and used that as the main part of our rocket. Then, we replaced the lid with a cork so we could use a bike pump to pump air into it and to get it to launch. We later added 3 polystyrene fins to the base to increase its aerodynamics.
Downpipe Downpipe Doo from Frome College
Providing low cost electrical energy
The water wheel is not a new idea. It was made over 3,000 years ago by the Greeks. Its use became widespread during medieval times. One on each downpipe could provide electric energy without any effort, effectively for years. It could power an outdoor light or some sprinklers. The Raspberry Pi solves one of the major problems with the design: blockages. They can disrupt and prevent the wheel from moving without anyone’s knowledge. However, with some sensors connected to the Pi, it can notify people when it is no longer spinning when it should. As well as this, it can be used to give the users information on energy saved, levels of precipitation and other facts to do with our ‘Gutter Waterwheels’.
Rasbora Pi from Tynecastle High School
Exploring the energy transition through aquaponics
Our idea was to build a small-scale Aquaponics system. Aquaponics is a soil-less plant cultivation with fish. It can be used to grow a variety of crops, including vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. Fish are raised in a tank and their waste acts as fertilizer for plants. Benefits of aquaponics are: reduced water usage; chemical fertilizers or pesticides are unnecessary; higher crop yields; and minimal environmental impact and waste production. Through our research and experimentation, we gained knowledge about fish types, plant varieties, light sources, water cycles, and monitoring sensors. Our system is now up and running, with watercress growing well and fish swimming happily.
REMI from Francis Holland Regent's Park
Measuring temperature and light levels
Our project is a Room Environmental Monitor Infobot or REMI. REMI uniquely addresses the energy transition theme by reducing our school's energy use and carbon footprint, making running our school more sustainable. To achieve this, REMI measures a classroom's temperature and light level and warns the user when levels are above a certain threshold. Our overall goal is to create a simple, modular Raspberry Pi-based invention that will inspire other schools and institutions to help this planet reach its climate goals. We have made REMI for the everyday classroom to start with and hope to improve the outlook for the future of children in the UK.
Slayalicious from Churcher's College
Making natural and renewable electricity
To come up with the idea of our submarine, we looked at ways to make natural and renewable electricity. One of the ways we discovered is using thermal energy from the bottom of the ocean and converting it into electricity. We then brainstormed and decided that a submarine with heat sensors to find the warm spots in the ocean so we can find more good places to extract energy would be a great idea. The submarine would travel along the bottom of the ocean and detects large areas of hot thermal energy that could be converted to electricity. Thermal energy is important and a very useful source of power that is naturally supplied. Not only can thermal energy be used adjacent to other renewable energy sources, but it also provides backup power, energy storage, and efficient heating and cooling alternatives.
We are Groot from Lancaster Girls' Grammar School Code Club
Monitoring electrical energy supplies
We have developed a prototype energy logger which by monitoring a single incoming electrical supply is able identify the individual electrical energy consumption of several connected appliances. The long-term goal would be to develop a device that can be connected to houses' incoming electrical supply cable which can identify energy usage of each device in the house. For the purposes of this project a table-top demonstration system has been produced which enables several known devices to be turned on and off. To encourage people to use greener energy, our software also displays how much CO2 is being produced by the overall energy consumption at one time.
Explore the rest of the competition
