Teen inventor makes use of recyclables

By Rachelle Agard

rachelleagard@nationnews.com

After his light-up sneakers stopped working, Daleron Thomas, who was three years old at the time, took them apart and fixed them.

And since then, he hasn’t stopped fixing electrical gadgets.

“It started when my light-up shoes were not working and I took them apart. I fixed them and they worked, but I couldn’t get them glued back together. Since then I have been taking apart stuff, fixing them, making new things,” Thomas said matter-of-factly.

Now, the 15-year-old Frederick Smith Secondary School student creates electronics out of recyclable material.

Speaking to the Weekend Nation recently, a shy Thomas said he enjoyed making his inventions out of recyclables.

“This year I did a solar-powered doorbell, multifunction speaker, multicharger and charger that charges electric vehicles wirelessly,” he said.

He also had two remote-controlled cars and a device that he said farmers could use to scare monkeys away from their crops in the field.

Thomas explained he had acquired the material that was thrown out, gathered all the parts and made the devices, especially for the annual Barbados Manufacturers’ Exhibition ( BMEX) and for home use.

Asked how he felt about his inventions, he said: “I feel normal”, flashing a bright smile.

He explained the small device also had a built-in microphone and speaker.

“Most of the material I gather from all around. There is also a recycle bin at school where I get some of the material or I have a teacher who brings me bits and pieces from her home that I use to make my devices,” he said.

Last year, Frederick Smith Secondary School copped the award for the most innovative school display as well as the overall title after Thomas invented and entered a multipurpose power box, which, much to his delight, caught the eye of Governor General Dame Sandra Mason when she toured BMEX.

At the time, he said he was proud of the invention and what he had achieved, adding that he had received a lot of recognition in and out of school for the box.

“The power box lets you charge your phone and it has a built-in microphone, which you can plug into your phone’s audio jack and play music. I am really happy that I got to enter the competition and that I achieved first place. It was not hard to create. I just put in the work,” he declared.

He and two of his friends, Nicolai Burham and Jaheem Lashley, were also able to exhibit their work at the career showcase at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in March.

Thomas, who is the first of three children, said he had no formal training and would watch YouTube videos and figure out how to do the configurations himself.

“I have a lot of support from my family and my teachers. The support has been very encouraging and motivating, and my mummy and daddy have been behind me 100 per cent,” he said.

The electrical genius said he intended to further his studies at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology before moving on to the University of the West Indies. He also hopes to start his own business.

Following the annual BMEX staging, Thomas went on to place first and second in the Barbados Light & Power’s Electrical And Renewable Energy Science Expo.

Daleron Thomas showing some of his inventions at BMEX 2019.

Governor General Dame Sandra Mason paying rapt attention to Daleron Thomas during the recently concluded BMEX, as he explained how his device

to scare away monkeys works. (Pictures by Reco Moore.)