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The top three teams in an anemometer design competition and special award winners were announced at a presentation ceremony at the Hong Kong Observatory headquarters today (July 4).
The competition was jointly organised by the Hong Kong Observatory and Faculty of Engineering, University of Hong Kong.
The response to the competition was encouraging with the participation of more than 100 teachers and students from 18 primary and secondary schools. There were more than 20 entries and each had its own characteristics. This was a testimony to the students' scientific knowledge, creativity and design skills.
At the ceremony, Dean of Engineering, the University of Hong Kong, Professor Chew Weng-cho, said he was impressed by the anemometers designed and produced by the students. He said, "In addition to the creative design of the anemometers, a variety of hardware and software was used to receive and process wind data. This demonstrated the students' talent and potential in engineering."
Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Dr Lee Boon-ying, said the entries were very innovative and full of novel ideas. "In both junior and senior categories, the champions also won the most innovative anemometer award, the most accurate anemometer award and the most attractive anemometer award. This proves that their work was outstanding and all-round. Overall speaking, all the entries were of a high quality."
The champion of the junior category was a group of primary students from the Ho Ming Primary School (Sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen). The adjudicators praised their anemometer for being practical in use, easy to assemble for high portability, and able to display readings in real time. The group's written report was very comprehensive. The winning team of five students said that they learned a lot throughout the competition, including the usage of materials and tools. The activity also enhanced their interest in design and creative work.
The champion of the senior category was from the Pok Oi Hospital 80th Anniversary Tang Ying Hei College. The adjudicators highly praised the students for successfully applying the principle of magnetic induction to record the rotational speed of wind cup and the direction of wind vane. The procedures of installation and operation were also explained in detail in their report. The four students of the winning team thanked their teachers for providing assistance and guidance. They also said that they had done a lot of research and spent much effort over the past few months to produce a creative, accurate and aesthetically appealing anemometer.
The objective of the competition was to enhance the knowledge and interest of primary and secondary school students in meteorology and information technology. Since the launch of the competition in September 2008, the Observatory and the University of Hong Kong had organised a series of lectures, visits and workshops to familiarise the students with the principle of operation of meteorological instruments and the basics of electronics to facilitate the design and assembly of their anemometers. To enable the students to test and calibrate their anemometers more precisely, the Observatory specially constructed a wind tunnel which could simulate different wind speeds for testing the anemometers.
The list of awards of the anemometer design competition is as follows.
Junior Category:
Champion, the most innovative anemometer award, the most accurate anemometer award and the most attractive anemometer award: Ho Ming Primary School (Sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen)
First runner-up: Yan Ping Industrial & Commercial Association Lee Lim Ming College
Second runner-up: Immaculate Heart of Mary College
Merit awards: HKUGA Primary School, Diocesan Boys' School Primary Division and St Mark's School
Senior Category:
Champion, the most innovative anemometer award, the most accurate anemometer award and the most attractive anemometer award: Pok Oi Hospital 80th Anniversary Tang Ying Hei College
First runner-up: Po Kok Secondary School
Second runner-up: Yan Ping Industrial & Commercial Association Lee Lim Ming College
Ends/Saturday, July 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:01
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