Aristide Boileau, a Year 4 student from Colégio Internacional de Vilamoura (CIV), has been distinguished by the National Geographic Learning Team in the ‘Think Like a Plastic Detective’ competition for designing a water purification machine created from recyclable materials.
“This innovative proposal to improve the world we live in was submitted as a video presentation, and featured the student’s eloquent description of the methodology, processes, and explanation of his project,” the school said in a statement
“His design, achieved by recycling PET bottles, allowed Aristide to create fresh water from seawater. The project thus earned the praise of the National Geographic Learning Team, which awarded the student 5th place among all the works presented worldwide.”
But Aristide was not the only CIV student to receive recognition.
Matilde Sequeira, who created a mobile dreamcatcher to “represent the effect of plastic on sea creatures”, and Henrique Lin, who designed a raft to transport small toys, were both featured on the National Geographic Learning website and were commended “for their excellent content and understanding of the subject”.
“The interest in personal research was stimulated following an online distance learning session with National Geographic in March. In recognition of the Year 4 competition entries, the school was provided with several prizes for the students involved, as well as participation certificates for the whole class. These were presented at a class assembly by their teacher, Alison Stedman,” the school said.
CIV added that Year 4 students have continued to “embrace the challenges of the National Geographic Learning Team and joined the ‘Become an Animal Superhero’ investigation.”
As a result, the class learned about ecosystems, habitats, tracking systems and food supply chains, as well as the declining numbers of certain bird species around the world.
As the school explains, “the introduction to this project was once again accessed through a live online session attended by 100 classes from schools around the world, giving students the chance to virtually meet leading experts who specialise in species conservation, and learn more about their research.”
The students can now continue to explore this subject matter by completing a summer project about endangered species.
“CIV has future plans to nurture this inspiring partnership with National Geographic Learning that has created so much enthusiasm in the school’s ‘little scientists’,” the school added.
