I was introduced to Genius Hour on the first day of 2nd semester junior year by my teacher Mr. Orre. Genius Hour, also known as the 20 Time Project, allows for 20% of total work time to be used to explore and do something active with our passions. The concept, in fact, has been used by amazing tech companies like Google, which has witnessed Genius Hour produce wondrous inventions and ideas such as Gmail.
I was really excited and confused at the same time when I came to know what 20 Time was. It was something so different and creative from what we usually do in school but yet I wondered what exactly a small teenager like me could do to impact the community and world around me. I love Science so I knew I would do something STEM-related, but I didn't know what. After thinking about it a bit more, I realized that a big problem in underdeveloped parts of the world is that they have no electricity and therefore no way of lighting up their lives when it gets dark outside. So I thought, "Why not create an easy and affordable product that would allow people to generate light?" And so I came up with the idea of the saltwater flashlight.
Salt water makes up 99% of all usable water on our planet. It is the most abundant resource there is, but isn't being used since we cannot drink it. A saltwater flashlight would greatly help people without lighting in their homes because they can easily recharge the torch anytime with just a bit of water. My aim with this project is to either propose the exact steps involved with building this flashlight, or even better, to actually create a prototype! I want to continue with this even after the class is over, and it would be great to one day distribute this to people in underprivileged parts of the world.
I really enjoy Physics, but I am still very new to building circuits and such. I'm hoping this project will give me the opportunity to overcome this barrier and learn a lot about engineering and electricity! I will measure my progress by making a schedule of what I need to get done and by when. This will allow me to stay on task. I first need to figure out how to make a saltwater battery, which will be the hardest part, then I need to engineer the outer cover and inner workings of a functioning flashlight, and finally, if there is time, make a switch that will prevent waste of energy. I still have a lot of research and learning to do, but I am looking forward to it!
I was really excited and confused at the same time when I came to know what 20 Time was. It was something so different and creative from what we usually do in school but yet I wondered what exactly a small teenager like me could do to impact the community and world around me. I love Science so I knew I would do something STEM-related, but I didn't know what. After thinking about it a bit more, I realized that a big problem in underdeveloped parts of the world is that they have no electricity and therefore no way of lighting up their lives when it gets dark outside. So I thought, "Why not create an easy and affordable product that would allow people to generate light?" And so I came up with the idea of the saltwater flashlight.
Salt water makes up 99% of all usable water on our planet. It is the most abundant resource there is, but isn't being used since we cannot drink it. A saltwater flashlight would greatly help people without lighting in their homes because they can easily recharge the torch anytime with just a bit of water. My aim with this project is to either propose the exact steps involved with building this flashlight, or even better, to actually create a prototype! I want to continue with this even after the class is over, and it would be great to one day distribute this to people in underprivileged parts of the world.
I really enjoy Physics, but I am still very new to building circuits and such. I'm hoping this project will give me the opportunity to overcome this barrier and learn a lot about engineering and electricity! I will measure my progress by making a schedule of what I need to get done and by when. This will allow me to stay on task. I first need to figure out how to make a saltwater battery, which will be the hardest part, then I need to engineer the outer cover and inner workings of a functioning flashlight, and finally, if there is time, make a switch that will prevent waste of energy. I still have a lot of research and learning to do, but I am looking forward to it!
