Project Ideas – Manawatu Science and Technology Fair

Get thinking

Animal Behaviour by remote sensing (your pet, farm animals, etc) –
- Get thinking
  - How widely do your pets/animals range? How could you find out?
  - If you could track your animal’s movements remotely, what would it tell you about its range and behaviour? (e.g. does it vary with rainfall, outside temperature, wind direction, timing of meals)?
  - How would you interpret this in terms of its needs or the environmental conditions?

Leveraging AI to solve real-world problems in our environment
- Get Thinking
  - What everyday problems do you see at home, school, on farms, or in your local environment (e.g. waste, water use, animal health, plant growth, transport, energy use)?
  - What is AI, in simple terms, and where do you already see it being used (phones, maps, social media, games, chatbots)?
  - How could you automate data collection over a simple dataset in less than four weeks (e.g. plant height over time, daily weather, traffic counts, lunchbox waste, paddock observations)?
  - Which questions could AI or basic data tools help answer about your dataset (e.g. spotting patterns, predicting what might happen next, or grouping similar things together)?
  - How might AI help New Zealand make better decisions about our land, water, climate, food, or health in the future?
  - What are some risks or ethical questions about AI (e.g. who owns the data, fairness, bias, over-reliance on technology)?
  - Could AI help make science more accessible to communities, including rangatahi and rural schools? How?
  - If your idea worked really well, how could it be scaled up and who would need to be involved (scientists, farmers, councils, businesses, iwi, government)?

Example

Think big (bullet points)

Examples

Measure the impact of age/gender on food choices and relate back to likely health outcomes
Examine the flavour profile of differently sourced protein supplements and correlate with liking and then the impact on cost and availability of protein feedstocks or life cycle assessment

Food as medicine
“Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food” – In ancient times, physicians understood the importance of food and even used it in medicinal ways.
- Why is it important?
- Can it provide a significant health improvement over any known medications with lowest cost to the patient and the health care system?

Waste to Value (mini BPA but much wider range)
How can something that is waste be converted to energy, a product, a treatment etc.
Why is it important?
We may be able to generate income stream from a waste stream that is useless now.

Apocalypse
The apocalypse is happening, and you have $500,000.
How do you survive? What are your immediate needs? Is having $500,000 even useful?
How would you go about water capture & purification, sewage handling and sanitisation, power generation, rationing and storage, food and nutrients, geographical areas for a safehouse, unique resources nearby (river, fresh water springs)?

Insect-human relationships
- Get Thinking
  - Why are insects important in our ecosystem?
  - Why are insects important in our food production system?
  - Why are insects important to our economy?
  - Are insects playing any roles in human culture?
  - What other benefits are insects bringing to our society, beyond food and environmental sustainability?
  - What threats do insects bring to our day-to-day life and/or to our society?
  - What’s the definition of insect pests? How are we dealing with insect pests in NZ, compared to other countries? And why are we doing so?

Think big (bullet points)
- Is there any way that AI and/or advanced biotechnology can help us more accurately deal with insect pests while protecting beneficial species?
- Are there any NZ native insect species that have (potential) economical/cultural value?

Authors: Martica Alico and Nick Robinson

Updated 20/10/2026