FOR 11-year-old Johann Avery Abatayo, the one thing that makes someone stand out is simple: real passion for what you do.
Abatayo, a Grade 6 pupil of Ocaña Central Elementary School in Carcar City, won first place in the Junior Science Demonstration competition during the Cebu leg of the Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Week (RSTW).
Like the five other junior demonstrators from schools across the region, he worked with his teacher-coach to choose an innovation to present during the weeklong celebration.
For Abatayo, the choice came easily. Thinking of recent earthquakes and destructive typhoons in his province, he wanted something that could help families who lose electricity when disasters strike.
Drawing inspiration from the desire to help, he built a simplified, no-electricity-needed heating device he called the “DIY Solar Oven,” which earned him the top spot.
“My teacher gave me options, and I saw this option, and I thought this could really help our community because it has been affected by the typhoon and earthquake just recently,” he said.
“I know they don’t have any electricity because of a downed power line, so I think this could be helpful because you can heat and melt food without any need for electricity,” he added.
He said he chose the project because, in times of disaster, food safety becomes even more critical. His DIY solar oven uses common kitchen items at home or easily bought from the supermarket.
He said he started by looking around their own kitchen for materials that anyone could use, especially in situations where the only available resource is heat from the sun. He settled on aluminum foil, plastic food wrap, a carton box and black paper, realizing these could capture and trap heat from sunlight.
“It needs sunlight,” he said during his demonstration. “From the light, it will reflect on the aluminum foil and go into the box. The black paper absorbs the sunlight and turns it into heat. The heat will be trapped in the box because of the clear plastic wrap, which is like a greenhouse effect. The food inside will melt or will be heated because air, or heat energy, will be trapped inside the box.”
The device does not fully cook food as an oven does, but Abatayo said it can help families reheat leftovers during calamities when the power supply is off.
He knows the struggle firsthand. He recalled losing electricity for months after a super typhoon hit Cebu in 2021, just days before Christmas.
“I also experienced it, makihaw sab ko unsay ilang ma-feel. I felt sad. Mao among family kay lonely pud sila sa mga na-affected (I also know what they felt. I was worried and sad. My family was also lonely among those affected),” he said.
He shared that although some members of his extended family could afford to stay in hotels, his parents chose to remain in their house to keep it safe from burglars, and he stayed with them.
“Stove among gamit peru nahurot, maong challenging sa amoa (We used a gas stove, but the fuel ran out, which was challenging for us),” he said, recalling how difficult it was to have warm food when they could hardly buy propane.
That experience made him think of others in far more difficult situations.
“Ingon ko, ‘Unsaon man nako pagtabang sa mga tawo?’ Mao nag-ingon ko nga maghimo ko’g product nga makatabang gyud nila (I said, ‘How can I help people?’ So I told myself I would create a product that would be of use for them),” he said.
“That inspired me nga mohimo ani nga innovation [to do this innovation],” he added.
Abatayo is quick to say the idea is not entirely new. He has seen similar concepts on social media. What makes his version different, he said, is that it uses familiar, low-cost materials that ordinary families already have.
Through creativity and passion, what looks like a school project has the potential to make life a little easier — and safer — for people affected by disasters.
The Junior Science Demonstration tilt, where Abatayo won first place, is one of two competitions under a new Science Communication category in this year’s RSTW.
Wesley Barcoma, RSTW coordinator of the Philippine Science High School-Central Visayas Campus (PSHS-CVisC), said Science Communication was added to the usual contests such as research poster and the science-mathematics battle.
“What’s so special about this year is that not only do we want to highlight the value of science, technology and innovation, but this year we also want to highlight two things: number one is the power of communication,” Barcoma said, stressing the importance of explaining science clearly to the public and recognizing the role of the youth.
Under the Science Communication category, organizers are holding the Junior Science Demonstration for elementary learners and the Eureka Video Challenge for high school students. Both are open to public and private schools in Central Visayas and the Negros Island Region.
The two competitions aim to showcase learners’ creativity while also highlighting the need to explain technical concepts in ways communities can easily understand.
“In these outputs, you will really see how crucial communication is in conveying technical, scientific knowledge to the community. Once we’re able to do that, we can see the progress that we are really aiming to see in our community or immediate environment,” Barcoma said.
The RSTW is an annual regional event organized by PSHS-CVisC, an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology.
With the theme “Science for the Youth,” RSTW 2025 aims to promote science, technology and innovation, and highlight their role in national development — just as Abatayo’s simple but thoughtful innovation demonstrates.
PIA