A vibrant assembly of young innovators, educators, and industry leaders celebrated the remarkable creativity of Hong Kong’s next generation at the awards presentation ceremony for the fifth Hong Kong Science Fair.

Guided by the rallying cry “Think Big Be Innovative”, young minds from primary and secondary schools across Hong Kong showcased a breathtaking array of projects aimed at addressing the defining issues of the era, including smart living, education, sustainability, healthcare, and smart city development.

After months of hard work, nearly 120 shortlisted teams presented their inventions for evaluation, with 16 teams emerging as winners across multiple categories. Over 500 project submissions reflected an incredibly enthusiastic response.

Highlighting the students’ focus on societal wellbeing, a team from CCC Chun Kwong Primary School developed Grip the Health, which is designed to address sarcopenia (muscle loss) among seniors and help reduce the risk of falls and long-term disabilities. The project earned them the Silver Award in the Primary Division.

A pressure sensor embedded in a grip ball captures the user’s grip strength data, which is transmitted via a micro:bit to a Scratch-based application. When users squeeze the ball, an on-screen character moves upward; when the grip is released, the character descends. This interactive experience makes exercise more engaging and encourages regular training.

Team members Chan Oi-ki and Bryant Wong Chi-sing shared that programming was the most challenging part of the development process, particularly in selecting a suitable programming language. With guidance from their teacher, they were able to complete the project successfully. They believe the invention will enable seniors to train conveniently at home, including during short breaks, making it easy to incorporate into daily life.

A different kind of public-facing problem drew the attention of students from St Paul’s Co-educational College. They took on the issue of misleading red lighting in wet markets, which makes meat appear fresher than it really is. They then created VeriFresh, an app that uses color correction and artificial intelligence to assess meat freshness from photos.

“We did a lot of extensive research, found a relevant research paper, and followed the process to develop our solution,” said team member Chan Wing-yan. The project received the Silver Award in the Senior Secondary Division.

Special