OPENING ADDRESS BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, ACTING MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE SINGAPORE YOUTH SCIENCE FESTIVAL 2004 ON THURSDAY, 27 MAY 2004, AT 10.00 AM AT TEMASEK JUNIOR COLLEGE’S AUDITORIUM

Dr Chew Tuan Chiong, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Singapore Youth Science Festival 2004 and Director & Chief Executive, Science Centre

Ms Brenda Yeow, Co-Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Singapore Youth Science Festival 2004

Mr Albert Tan, General Manager (External Affairs), SHELL

Mrs Lim Lai Cheng, Principal, Temasek Junior College

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Boys and girls

A very good morning to all of you

INTRODUCTION

1 I am very happy to be here this morning at the opening of the 2004 Singapore Youth Science Festival (SYSF).  Now in its 27th year, the Festival remains a significant event in the school calendar.  Some 100,000 students participate in the Festival each year, a good indication of its success in promoting a fascination in science in our schools.

SCIENCE EDUCATION

2 The 21st century belongs to cities and nations which create the conditions that spur the growth of new ideas and enterprise.  Cities that bring people together to make the most innovative use of science and technology will lead.

3 We have certain advantages.  We have high standards of science and mathematics education in our schools, which exceed those of most other countries.  Our research institutions and universities are building on this, and pulling together a critical mass of scientists in Singapore, including top scientists from across the world.  We are also seeing growing collaboration between our local universities and the best universities in the world, in the US, Europe and Asia, in scientific research and joint academic programmes.

4 Our schools are where we till the soil, sow the seeds, nurture the buds and grow a sustained interest in science.  Most of our students get about 8 to 9 years of exposure to the various sciences by the time they complete their secondary education.

5 However what matters is not what our students learn in school and what their grades are, but how they learn.  Whether you develop a passion for learning, and a desire to keep on learning.  Whether you develop a curiosity that goes beyond your books.  And whether you acquire the willingness to experiment where there is no tried formula, and no rules to guide you.

SYSF – SCIENCE FOR ENTERPRISE

6 The SYSF provides an excellent opportunity for students to do something outside the formal curriculum that interests and excites them.  It spurs them to look for viable solutions to real-life problems.

7 A key highlight of the Festival each year is the Science Fair.  I am glad that the organisers have chosen the theme “Science for Enterprise” this year.  The theme encourages our students to explore how science and business can come together to add value to society and bring benefit to those around us.

INNOVATIVE AND ENTERPRISING PROJECTS

8 And we can see that the students have come up with very interesting projects.  In the Lower Secondary category, a team from Bukit Panjang Government High investigated how spice extracts can delay the decomposition of fruits.  Working on oranges, they found that wasabi and the humble clove could slow down the rotting process.  The team figured that their discovery will allow our favourite fruits to be kept fresh longer, which is especially relevant in our tropical climate.  So don’t be too surprised if your tongue burns the next time you bite into an orange – it could be your grocer using wasabi to keep the fruits fresh.  I could see the quiet grins on the students’ faces when they presented their project to me when I visited the school a few weeks ago.

9 In the Upper Secondary category, a team from Jurong West Secondary came up with an idea to improve the quality of life of our senior citizens and the wheel-chair bound.  Observing the residents at the St. Joseph’s Old Folks’ Home, the team noticed that they faced problems in doing a task which we take for granted – lifting the cover of the garbage bin to throw garbage.  Using the Robot Command Explorer (RCX) system and an Infrared Proximity Sensor, the team invented a disabled-friendly garbage bin that can be elevated to the waist level with the cover opening automatically.  The team hopes that if the innovation proves viable, it can be installed in hospitals and homes for old folks and the disabled, to enhance their daily lives.  And the team’s market research shows that there might indeed be demand for such a device.

10 Another team, from Raffles Junior College, came up with an idea that most of us can readily appreciate – a quick-drying umbrella.  Water repellent coating is applied on the umbrella fabric to ensure that little of the rainwater remains on the umbrella’s surface.  There are also valley-like threaded depressions in the middle of each triangular surface, drip tips and a vibrating mechanism to shake off excess water (and presumably keep you wide awake while you walk). According to the team, the final product is as affordable as conventional umbrellas.

11 And if Anderson Junior College’s study is accurate, farmers can work less and produce more.  The team investigated the effect of sound waves on the rate of respiration of germinating green bean seeds which were exposed to sound waves of different frequencies (2-10kHz).  It found that exposing germinating seeds to minimal frequencies of sound waves can increase agricultural productivity.

12 These are just a few of the novel projects that have come up in this year’s Science Fair.  It will be a great boost to our students if any of them should prove commercially viable.  But I am sure that the students have benefited in other ways.  Working on their projects got them out of the classroom and thinking hard about real world problems.  I am sure they also saw the dynamism of working in teams.

OTHER SYSF ACTIVITIES

13 I understand that the organisers have lined up other exciting events.  This includes exposing students to the “The Transit of Venus”, which is among the rarest of planetary alignments, occurring 12 times each millennium.  1,800 of students from 29 primary and secondary schools have attended workshops on how to build proper viewing tools using items like carton boxes and binoculars.  I am sure all of you will look forward to 8 June when the phenomenon occurs.

14 I understand also that the Students’ Science Seminar will provide opportunity to tap the minds of a number of successful “science-trepreneurs” – scientists who have been successful in combining research work and enterprise.  You will hear from Dr Alan Colman, who successfully cloned Dolly the sheep.  You will also hear from Dr Freddy Teo, who was involved in the setting up of StemCord, Singapore’s first private cord blood bank.  I am sure students will find their stories inspiring.

A WORD TO THE ORGANISERS

15 Finally, allow me to record my appreciation to the organisers of the festival – the Singapore Science Centre, the Science Teachers’ Association of Singapore and the Shell Companies in Singapore.  They have been unstinting in their efforts to sustain the festival over the last 27 years.  Shell, in particular, has funded the Festival since its inception.  Volunteers from among its staff, also chip in to help in the events.  This is a good example of how corporate citizens can help us as we develop a forward-looking, vibrant education system.

16 I wish all participants of the Festival a challenging and enjoyable experience.  It is with much pleasure that I now declare the 27th Singapore Youth Science Festival open.

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