PHOTO: Young engineers present self-made aircrafts, cars and ships in Astana

Young engineers are presenting self-made aircrafts, cars and ships in Astana, Tengrinews.kz reports. The national contest of air, auto, ship and rocket modeling and robotics has kicked off in Astana today, October 16. Young people from all over Kazakhstan brought their masterpieces: racing cars with remote controls, sailboats, motor ships, civil and military aircrafts, submarines, military ships and even small copies of famous cars. Most of the models work on real fuel and can keep move for several hours before refilling. The contest is participated by over 130 young people aged from 13 to 17. A prototype of German fighter airplane Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger is one of the brightest showpieces of the contest. It is presented by a team from Aktobe. A lunar rover made by Astana constructors from makeshift materials impressed the audience as well. According to Director of the National Training Center of Additional Education of Kazakhstan Education Ministry Umit Zheksenbayeva, the government is paying a healthy amount of attention to development of children’s additional education. “Additional education is developing well in Kazakhstan. We have schoolchildren’s palaces, centers for young engineers, tourists, natural scientists. However, we cannot talk about a sufficient coverage yet. Only 21.8 percent of children aged under 18 are involved in any kinds of additional education,” she said. According to Zheksenbayeva, interactive parks will be opened in 5 Kazakhstan oblasts in the nearest years. 170 centers will be equipped with facilities and parts for robotics engineering. The plan is to open 20 centers for young engineers and scientific-technical creativity centers in creativity halls around the country. 202 music schools will be supplied with new equipment.