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Students’ creativity on show at expo

SHARJAH — Grade V to Grade XII students of the Our Own English High School, Sharjah, had come up with their creative ideas and projects at the school’s biennial exhibition, Own Ex 2007, that concluded yesterday.

The two-day exhibition, aptly titled ‘Dreams, thoughts, action’, had students create models of electronic pets, touchscreens and IT-based solutions in Dubai Metro and the technology behind Dubai’s Salik.

Grade XI student Shazia Pervez had made a robotic pet and demonstrated how it could be used to efficiently perform the actions of a live pet. Explaining the advantages, she said, “It can be programmed to do anything, including sensing the presence of strangers. Besides, it is economical as it need not be fed at all.”

To keep up with the fast paced world and to make life easier, Shruthi Rajeev from Grade XII had come up with an innovative idea of an electrical letter box, which would indicate if there is a letter in the box. “If there is a letter, the light outside the box would turn green, otherwise it would remain red. If you are in a hurry, you just have to glance at the light and you would know if there is a letter waiting for you,” she said.

Higher secondary students came up with swipe cards that could be used by commuters in the Dubai Metro, instead of tickets. They also had a presentation on Salik, detailing how the toll service works and why it had been introduced.

The Arab Culture, pre-1970, came alive in the Arabic room and focused specifically on the life in the UAE through model displays and recreation of the times.

The tsunami, earthquakes and volcanoes were also recreated through working models. Students had also made models of the Burj Al Arab, Dubai Etisalat building along with Delhi’s Qutub Minar and Egyptian pyramids to emphasise how life has evolved over the centuries.

The cynosure of the event was Grade XII student Bazeela Thakur, who was sketching portraits with her pencil. In her tiny corner, she was quickly conjuring up portraits of parents and students who had come for the exhibition.

Fouzia Hassan, Director, Sharjah Educational Zone, who inaugurated the event, told Khaleej Times, “The exhibition is very impressive and the fact that students have done it all by themselves reflects the education they receive. They have come up with projects in difficult subjects like Maths and Physics and have conveyed the ideas very simply.”

Khalid Al Mulla, Deputy Director, Private Education, Sharjah Education Zone; Raed Awamleh, Dean, Academic Affairs and Acting CEO and Marketing Manager at University of Wollongong, Dubai; and Barbara Heyward, Director, Middlesex University, Dubai, had also come to the event.

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