Children and youth from the Baur Cultural Foundation - Mexico (one of the co-sponsors of the Student Conference) are working on some interesting projects for this year's conference. They are developing a "decontaminator robot" -- an portable, inexpensive robot that can be remotely controlled to test water quality and purify it if needed.

In some situations, like natural disasters, people don't have access to water supplies. Similarly, some people living in rural areas lack access to clean water as well. Moreover, installing facilities to purify polluted water can be expensive and time-consuming. The robot being developed by students at the Baur Cultural Foundation is attempting to address this situation. In order for it to meet the needs of those that can't afford costly solutions to these problems, the robot is being designed according to the following specifications:

• It must be portable;
• It must be controlled through the Internet;
• It must be able to sense the presence of phosphates in the water;
• It must use existent technology adapted to solve the problem; and
• It must be able to function using a 127 Volt power source.

Discuss this project online with the robot's designers!

During the month of May, rainfall in Mexico is low and the trees do not get enough water to grow. High school students at the Carol Baur came up with solution. They used drip sprinkling which delivers water in a highly efficient way. This is how it works:

• A stake is driven into the ground next to a tree;
• A hole is made in the top and bottom of a plastic bottle using a hot nail. The hole made in the top must be slightly larger than the one in the bottom; and
• The plastic bottle is filled with water and tied upside down to the stake.

When prepared in this way, the water drips slowly from the bottle and provides the tree with continuous water. Drip sprinkling saves water during a time when water is scarce because only the tree's roots receive moisture.

Discuss this project online with the students who worked on it!