May 8, 2014 - 8:45am
Physics and chemistry faculty are getting their props and concoctions ready for the sixth annual Extreme Science show at Vancouver Island University (VIU).
The startling and occasionally loud science demonstrations will entertain 1,200 school students in four sold-out shows this year.
Tickets are still available for a public show of explosions, implosions, flying arrows, fire, lightning and illusions at Malaspina Theatre on VIU’s Nanaimo campus 7 pm, Thursday, May 15.
Tickets, $10 each, are available in the VIU Physics Building (315), Rooms 208, 209 or 210, or from Kool & Child at #102-2517 Bowen Road, Nanaimo.
“Every year we get a great response from the schools and the local community,” says Ray Penner, Physics professor at VIU. “We are thrilled that the audiences enjoy the show as much as we enjoy doing them.”
The show is being staged by faculty from VIU’s Physics Department: Greg Arkos, Debbie Hearn, Owen Peer, Jim Slater, and Penner, along with faculty members Peter Diamente and Sandy Patrick from VIU's Chemistry department, and Patrick Ng from the Math department. VIU student Greg Vandergrift and former VIU student Richard Salmon are also taking part.
“It’s rewarding for us as a group to get kids excited about science,” says Penner. “And it goes the other way, too. The response from the kids certainly keeps us ‘extreme scientists’ excited about putting on the show.”
Extreme Science is a popular spring fundraiser for LED Africa, a charity started by Penner several years ago. The organization aims to provide solar-powered lighting systems to rural secondary schools in Malawi, Africa. Penner developed a connection with Malawi when he taught there 20 years ago.
“Many of the rural secondary schools in Malawi have evening study sessions where they use kerosene lighting,” he says. “These sessions are typically sporadic both because of the cost and the limited availability of kerosene. In addition, the smoke from the kerosene lanterns causes health concerns.”
In 2008, Penner and his colleagues from the University of Malawi set up a test system at a school using energy efficient LED lights powered by a solar panel on the roof. The total power required for a 50-student classroom is about 40 watts, which keeps expenses low.
After a positive response from the test school, Penner created LED Africa and lighting systems were installed in classrooms at three schools in 2009. Since then a total of 19 schools have received the lighting system with the help of technicians from the University of Malawi. The cost to set up a classroom is $1,200, with two classroom systems being installed at each school.
The single solar panel, the battery, and cables which are required for each classroom are purchased from suppliers within Malawi. The battery box, which holds the battery and the controls, as well as the stands for the LED lanterns are built by local Malawian carpenters. The lanterns are all assembled by Malawians.
“The key for me is that the system is built by Malawians and maintained by Malawians,” says Penner. “The annual cost of running this lighting is less than what the schools pay for kerosene and therefore the schools can cover the future maintenance costs. It’s a long-term system.”
In 2013, money raised by ticket sales went towards buying $14,000 worth of textbooks for the rural secondary schools. “These schools typically have very few textbooks,” says Penner. “Having an adequate number of textbooks along with the lighting systems is a combination that should lead to success for the students.”
More information on the Extreme Science show
More information on the Malawi project
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