Introducing our new partnership program called Envirosense Hack Series. This is a community science project (with series of workshops) implemented by Vilsquare Makers’ Hub, Nigeria; Public Lab, USA & Make: Magazine USA. The project aims to achieve two objectives;
Firstly, to help young scientists (age 10-19) to connect theoretical Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) concepts to real world applications. It builds on the DIY model of open science and hardware in a fun, collaborative and engaging way. This session will involve series of biohacks using microscopes and spectrometers.
Secondly, to bring together community members including scientists & researchers to monitor the environment we live in. The community science activities will use multi channel sensors and actuators to capture air quality (this will show the potential health hazards with air pollution from vehicles, construction and industrial emissions) and infrared analysis of vegetation health (this will show the step-wise effect of climate change on wild vegetation) in Nigeria.
Sign up for the program here.
Edition 1: Karu Suburb, Abuja
On the 22nd – 23rd of October, Vilsquare Makers’ Hub kicked off its Envirosense Hack Series with a Science workshop for teachers and a Biohack workshop for young scientists in Karu, a suburb of Abuja. The series supported by Public Lab and Make: Magazine had 108 participants aged 10 – 40 years.
It was an interesting and creative programme where the teams built DIY digital microscopes from Public Lab. They took turns identifying and testing samples from their environment including water and plants. The session on plant cells brought the textbook theory to life!
Our young scientists had a super time working on Public Lab’s DIY paper light Spectrometers with help from their teachers. The Lego Spectrometer was also a hit, clearly showing the limitless boundaries for community science.
We are grateful to Public Lab, Make: Magazine and Meluibe Foundation for providing the tools, manuals and community plugin for the workshops.