A HUNT for the oldest electric household appliance is a contest that major Slovak energy distribution company Západoslovenská energetika has organised for 13-year-old children.
The issue of energy conservation is coming more and more into focus in the face of today's environmental problems. It is believed that an environmental approach towards life has to be acquired during childhood so that, as an adult, one sees it as a normal lifestyle.
Children in the eighth grade at 300 elementary schools in Slovakia enter the contest by filling in a questionnaire where they describe the equipment in their households, highlighting the oldest appliance.
The company wants to encourage the children to use scientific knowledge acquired at school in order to find possible ways to save energy in their homes.
So far, the company has received 1,170 completed questionnaires. The results of the event will be known at the end of November. The winner will get a new, energy-efficient appliance to replace the old one.
Children that are just at the door of maturation are at an age when they start to understand environmental problems and actual household expenses. At this time, they begin to realise that they have the ability to influence energy consumption through their behaviour and habits.
