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Sahar Vasquez reporting
These highschoolers astonished adults today with their groundbreaking science projects. What amazed everyone was not the complexity of the projects it was the fact that all these youngsters really want to do is improve lives.

Justin Ayuso tired of seeing garbage littered around the place decided to use it for good.

Sahar Vasquez, reporter
"How is it growing with the cotton and toilet paper? That is not soil?"

Justin Ayuso, Saint John's College Student/ Science Fair Participant
"That is right Miss. We tried and test it. I did not know it would grow either. I was surprised to see it grow."

"All of them got the equal amount of water each day. We have the two-week cycle. The tallest is the toilet paper which has 0.12 meters. Then we have the cotton which is 0.02 meters, and then the soil which is."

Sahar Vasquez
"What was your inspiration to do this specific project?"

Justin Ayuso
"Every time I walk home I see the garbage on the floor and no use just garbage. Instead of just leaving it there we could recycle it and use it for better."

Microscopes are an essential tool in Science but for many schools, it is too expensive so Adrian Marshalleck and his team created one that cost less than $50.

Adrian Marshalleck, Saint John's College Student/Science Fair Participant
"This version of the microscope is more cost-effective meaning that it is cheaper, it is very easy to construct, and it is portable."

"It can take pictures of your using your smartphone."

"What this is right here is a focus lens from a laser pointer. That magnifies the camera so you can view everything. This is just one lens."

"The microscopes that we use here at school cost up to $250 and this whole thing cost $20 with the addition of the second lens it can go up to 375 times as I said before and the one at school for $250 can go up to 400 times. You compare $250 to $20 that is a huge difference for the same results."

Lately the weather in Belize has been unpredictable and drenching rains come out of nowhere. So Alexis Ayuso found a way to stay dry.

Alexis Ayuso, Saint Catherine Academy Student/Science Fair Participant
"We came up with a solution of pure silicone and pure mineral spirits when they mix together and applied onto any cloth material and if it is dry it will leave a thin layer of silicone that will make it hydrophobic in the long run, in the future, so it is water repellant meaning that is not easily penetrated by water especially after being coated with the solution."

"If you are out and don't want to get wet you can put this solution on to your jacket. It will not change the texture or the colour or the feel of the jacket. It will only make it waterproof, water repellant."

Muffles Students noticed many houses that have been torched by fires so they came up with a way to prevent these deadly fires.

Leehan Castillo, Muffles Student/Science Fair Participant
"We added potassium bicarbonate into regular, paint, water, and oil and it actually slows down the process of it burning and it extinguishes on its own. This is a preventative way to not have much fire around."

Natasha Smiling, Muffles Student/Science Fair Participant
"Most of the people that are being affected by this have houses that are made out of wood and most of them not all are of a lower income. We were thinking about helping everyone that have houses made out of wood. With this, we can help them prevent starting a fire in the home."

And so while in some young people can be a handful with their mood swings and rebellious actions today proved that they can also surprise us with their ingenuity and aptitude.

Two of Orange Walks high schools came out on top. Bishop Martin placed first and Muffles College came in second. Sacred Heart from Cayo placed third.