JEDDAH, 17 May 2006 — Twelve-year-old Indonesian Makiyah Sutardi won this year’s top prize in the Ninth Al-Baik Coca-Cola Young Scientists Contest. Sutardi’s project involved harvesting methane gas from camel waste.
Sutardi, a seventh grader at the Global International School, won a five-day all-expenses paid trip to the Dubai Children Museum and a cash prize of SR5,000.
About 250 students between the ages of 10 and 18 took part in the contest, titled “Keeping Our Resources”. The awards were given away in a function at Jeddah Science & Technology Center.
Sixth grader Wessam Abu Sharkh designed a trivia game computer program for young children.
Mohammed Al-Rahbi, 14, participated in the event for the third time. “My invention is an instrument which is put in the soil beside a plant. When the plant needs sunlight, the instrument beeps,” he said.
There were three winners for the first prize. Tarik Al-Turkustani, Abdul Rahman Husain and Bashayer Ba-Hijri each won a laptop. Walid Filimban, Ahmad Ba-Khushwain and Al-Faisal Al-Humaid each won the second prize, a desktop computer. The third prize was awarded to Abbas Al-Shabrawishi, Ismail Alawi and Omar Ba-Khushwain.
The distinguished school prize of SR10,000 went to Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Intermediate School. The prize will support the school in buying and equipping its science club. Fahd Al-Harithy from the school won the SR2,500 prize for distinguished teacher.
