Translator: Hiroko Kawano Reviewer: Kayoko Shiomi
Here are two cans.
Can you tell which is steel and which is aluminum?
If you look at the back of the cans, you can see what they're made of.
But it's hard to tell what they're made of unless you hold them or see the emblem.
I created a self-separating recycle bin for these cans,
as a summer assignment for my 5th grade science project.
In August 2015, I became one of the few elementary school students
in Japan to hold a patent.
At home, my dad usually made us birthday cakes,
which were so tasty and I was very happy.
I made a cake for the first time for my brother's 2nd birthday.
I was a first grader.
Now I cook a variety of dishes for my family and friends.
I've made takoyaki-style stir-fried rice.
I decorated cakes like this.
I like making them creatively,
and I like to see the happy faces of my family and friends.
During the summer vacation of my 5th grade,
when I was deciding on the theme of my summer science project,
I thought of my grandpa,
who is the owner of a grocery store.
He always has to separate aluminum cans from steel cans.
I thought it was quite a chore.
I wondered if I could come up with a way to make it easier.
So I decided to create a device that could separate steel from aluminum.
As I thought about ways to separate steel cans from aluminum cans,
I recalled an experiment performed during my 3rd grade science class,
where we put a magnet on plates of steel and aluminum.
I was interested in the ways the magnet stuck to the steel plate,
but slid smoothly on the aluminum plate.
This gave me an idea of how I could separate
steel cans from aluminum cans.
Then, how could I separate the cans using a magnet?
I thought of several ways.
I tried two of them, but they didn't work.
I became frustrated and felt "I'm very tired and stuck."
Then, I was toying with a ruler with a magnet like this.
After seeing the way a steel can comes off from the magnet on the ruler,
my dad said, "Its movement is interesting."
Then I thought, "That's it!"
I came up with the structure of the bin.
By utilizing my idea, I contrived this bin.
Let me put the empty cans in from here.
The aluminum can falls straight this way,
while the steel can falls to the right side.
Do you want to see that again?
(Applause)
Now, let's do that again.
This is an aluminum can.
Next is a steel can.
(Applause)
An aluminum can here.
A steel can there.
(Applause)
Do you ever wonder
why only steel cans go down veering?
This is the most exciting part, where I repeatedly made experiments.
I first experimented on the structure of the bin I came up with.
This is steel.
This is aluminum.
Aluminum.
Steel.
Like this, aluminum cans fall straight,
while steel cans move to the right.
This idea went well, so I made a recycle bin like this.
This should be a completed version, but it was not as good as I thought.
The magnet was not close enough to the top.
Both aluminum and steel cans went down straight.
So I tried using a thin plate at the top.
This time the steel cans went the right way.
However, they stuck to the magnet and did not fall down.
So I put another thin plate under the magnet.
I put thin plates both at the top and under the magnet.
It went well this time.
Steel cans came to fall on the right side.
To increase the accuracy of this device,
I tried various sizes of thin plates.
I tried different lengths, from 1cm to 5cm.
And I found that 3cm worked the best.
My dad, who was already a patent holder,
loved the way the cans moved and the simple design of my device.
He recommended that I should take a patent for this.
So I decided to file a patent.
To be honest, I did not know what a patent meant at that time.
I sometimes felt pressed to finish my assignment during the summer vacation,
but I tried all the ideas I came up with,
including the use of thin plates, which eventually help me get a patent.
Try your ideas even if they don't work.
Even if something doesn't work, you may discover something new.
Just try it anyway.
You'll find a way, if you try!
In this way, this bin was completed 5 days before the vacation was over.
I did not achieve this easily or quickly.
I was able to make it happen because my family supported me
and worked together to shape my ideas.
Whenever I thought of something,
I shaped my inspiration clearly by talking to my mom.
Then with dad, I made prototypes.
With trial and error, we exchanged ideas together.
As a result, I was able to make it real.
I love my family who always supports me.
With their support, I became a young inventor who holds a patent.
I was motivated by my family and friends who I love so much.
I was inspired while I was playing.
I succeeded when I was about to give up.
If you hit upon an idea,
please try it anyway, without fear of failure.
I think this is most important.
(Applause)