WINDHOEK, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- When Soini Shoonga noticed that many of his classmates were struggling with mathematics, the Grade 7 student began looking for a way to make the subject easier to learn.
His solution was a solar-powered electrical math game made with recycled materials, which he brought to Namibia's National Science Fair in Windhoek on Friday.
"A lot of learners in my class actually failed mathematics last time, so I came up with this idea," Shoonga told Xinhua.
An online search led him to an electrical game designed for biology learning. He wondered whether he could adapt the idea to help his classmates practice mathematics.
"I wondered what if I just convert it into an electrical math game," he said.
Shoonga was among students from across Namibia presenting projects inspired by problems they had encountered in their classrooms and communities, ranging from difficulties with schoolwork to inefficient use of water in farming.
For Maxnoah Lukas, a Grade 11 student from Kavango East Region, the starting point was the gap he saw between farming practices in his community and the possibilities offered by computers.
Farmers struggled with inefficient water use, he said, prompting him to develop an automated system designed to monitor growing conditions and irrigate crops when needed.
The project combines sensors with a program written in Python to monitor crops' water needs, including when farmers are away.
"I noticed that there's a gap between agriculture and computers," Lukas said.
He said he wanted to make technology more useful to farmers in his community, helping them produce food without wasting resources.
"My main motivation is that I like automation," added Lukas, who hopes to pursue engineering.
Organized by the National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, the annual fair allows students to conduct scientific investigations and present their findings.
Exhibits ranged from working prototypes to research projects, with participants exploring subjects including agriculture, energy, mathematics and health.
Mokgadi Tittus, a member of the fair's Quality Assurance Committee, said identifying projects that respond to practical problems was an important goal.
"This platform creates an opportunity for learners to be identified and for projects to be continued further," he told Xinhua.
Tittus said the NCRST aimed to identify promising projects and help develop them further for potential use in local markets.
For Shoonga, taking part in competitions had already helped him improve his design. Feedback from judges at an earlier round prompted him to add more questions and a selector to his math game.
"At first, it didn't have a selector and only had a few questions," he said. "The judges at the circuit told me it would be more fun and interactive if it had a lot of questions, so I expanded it."
The fair, which commenced on Wednesday and opened to the public on Friday, formed part of the broader 2026 Mathematics and Science Promotion Program, a national initiative that brought learners from regions across Namibia together to compete in the National Science Fair, the Namibia Mathematics Olympiad and the National Science Quiz. ■
