Faculty of Science, Technology & Environment (FSTE)

University of the South Pacific Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment invites you to an exciting journey through two theme parks; Ridge to Reef Nature Walk and Techno Portal this year.

Ridge to Reef Nature Walk

This theme park will provide an experience of the two facets of Mother Nature today; the tranquility of sustainably managed ridge to reef and the dismay of unsustainably managed environment.

The sustainable park will provide a wholesome experience of various natural ecosystems as you walk from the ridge to the reef and equip you with information and fun facts regarding these.

The sustainable forest ecosystem will be showcasing the rich biodiversity of our local forests and how these providemanyimportant products for everyday use. Mangrove forest ecosystem lines most of the shores protecting the shoreline from waves, provides many important resources andare home to many animals. We will also be demonstrating a model mangrove ecosystem which will also feature live animals, providing you a chance to interact with them.

Furthermore, we will have sustainable tank display which will feature a healthy coral reef ecosystem with live marine organisms such as tropical marine fish, sea stars, sea cucumbers, sponges, seaweeds and seagrasses.

This will allow you to touch and interact with common marine organisms which you are likely to come across while swimming in the ocean. You will enjoy observing these organisms up close such as viewing how the tube feet of sea stars move, how sea urchins move and not to forget the mechanical diver in the tank.

Also, since Fiji has the largest reported hammerhead nursery in the world, there will be a hammerhead photo booth and this will be complimented with free face paintings.

Sustainable practices are important and lead to healthy environment but on the other hand there are many unsustainable practices which harm these ecosystems.

Also on display would be the impact on the ecosystems from unsustainable practices. When mangroves are removed for industrial development, very few forms of life are present due to the habitat loss.

We will show how waves are able to cause erosion of the coastline when mangroves are removed from the ecosystem. Moreover, we will demonstrate how the coral reef ecosystem changes due to unsustainable practices.

Thus the unsustainable tank will consist of bleached and broken coral fragments covered with algae to depict an unhealthy coral reef ecosystem due to human pollutants.

This tank will also have oil discharge from a ship, factory effluents being discharged via pipes and plastic pollution. There will be a factory with fume emissions depicting greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that contributes towards ocean acidification.

These are examples of some negative human impacts on our ecosystems and we hope that the experience would encourage everyone to advocate, adapt to and practice sustainable methods.

Techno Portal

The Techno theme park will take you to an exciting, unprecedented time in the innovative technology race track. We will be exhibiting the cutting edge technologies in the fields of:

 Robotics (Drones, Robot Arms, Automated vehicular robots, Programmed Robots)

 Renewable Energy (Hydro, Wind, Solar based systems)

 Mechanical Engineering (Design, AutoCAD Drawing, 3D Printing, Thermodynamics, Aerodynamics)

 Physics (Communication, Meteorology)

 Electrical/Electronics Engineering (Power Systems, Power Electronics, Embedded Systems, Microprocessor based systems)

 Hybrid Systems (Fuel Cell + Super capacitors, Solar + Fuel Cell)

 Computing & Information Systems (Application Development, Security Systems, Webpage Designing)

We will be conducting live demonstrations of our ongoing final year and post graduate projects providing you a chance to observe and also participate in some of them.

The theme park will give you the opportunity to experience the industrial environment and get to see the new and advanced gadgets in operation. Our newly acquired 3D printers would be on display and you will be able to see the 3D printing process.

Also, recently arrived drones, programmed vehicular robots and armed robots will be on exhibition as well which will give a feel of the current advancements in the area of robotics.

Furthermore, we will be showcasing renewable energy village designed by our students to help you understand the concept behind the renewable energy distribution in Fiji.

Demonstrations will also be given on the latest fiber optics technology as well as on the instrumentation of our newly arrived meteorological equipment.

We will also showcase many computing and information science applications related to the digital world and have many activities, some of which include application development, webpage designing, and programming contests.

Throughout the day, quizzes and other competitions will be held at the two theme parks and attractive prizes will be given to the winners.

Source: University of the South Pacific