Last year, a nine-year-old girl from Chiapas, Mexico was awarded a prestigious science award for a solar water heater she designed and made.
Xóchitl Guadalupe Cruz López of San Cristóbal de las Casas received the ICN Women’s Recognition Award from the
Institute of Nuclear Science at the National Autonomous University (UNAM).
Xóchitl also received support to complete her heater from the
UNAM Adopt a Talent Program, which encourages students from pre-school to high school to undertake scientific projects.
How did she invent her homemade creation?
Xóchitl wanted to design and make a low-cost water heater that doesn’t harm the environment and is accessible to people of limited economic means.
She started with some basic sketches in her notebook and soon progressed to the stage where she was ready to gather the materials required for her solar water heater.
The young scientist made her solar heater with a 15-meter black hose, 10 PET bottles that she painted black, plastic cable ties, a wooden base, black nylon and recycled glass.
“I used the glass doors of a broken cooler to create a greenhouse effect . . .” Xóchitl explained.
The solar heater, which she installed on her home’s rooftop, has the capacity to heat 10 liters of water to between 35 and 45 C.
Xóchitl’s father Lucio, a teacher at a pre-school, encouraged his daughter during each step of the process.
Xóchitl explained that she was motivated to invent her solar water heater because of the cold climate in her home town.
“In San Cristóbal it’s very cold most of the year so if people shower with cold water they can get sick with respiratory illnesses,” she said.
“I want to help with my knowledge because there are a lot of poor people here,” she said.
This is the first time the ICN Women's Recognition Award has been awarded to a child.
Source:
Milenio
(SP)
