Speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Finance and Minister for Education, at the Singapore Science Centre 30th Anniversary Celebrations on Friday, 7 December 2007, at 1830 hours, Singapore Science Centre

SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATHNAM, MINISTER FOR FINANCE AND MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE SINGAPORE SCIENCE CENTRE 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS ON FRIDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2007, AT 1830 HOURS, SINGAPORE SCIENCE CENTRE

1 It is a real pleasure to be here this evening with everyone else to celebrate the Science Centre’s 30th anniversary.

2 The Science Centre has in its own way told a story of transformation in Singapore education. It has progressed over its 30 years to become a world-class scientific institution.

3 The idea behind the Centre remains much the same today as it was in 1977, when it was set up at the Government’s initiative to popularise science and technology among the country’s young people. It has done this well, as so many Singaporeans will attest. It has ignited a passion for science amongst generations of children, and sustained the interest of many thereafter. It does this by taking science and illustrating the wonders of its real-world applications so that it becomes relevant and personal to everyone. You don’t have to be in love with Science to be in love with the Science Centre.

4 This is also why the Science Centre has expanded. It has reached out to over 16 million visitors over the last 30 years. Along with the exhibits, shows and gallery demonstrations, it provides science enrichment programmes which cater to 120,000 students annually. That’s almost one out of five students in our schools each year.

5 Years later, many remember their experiences at the Science Centre’s interactive exhibits and specialised facilities such as the DNA Learning Lab, or how they would discover something new or unusual at each visit to the Centre.

6 All this adds up to how we nurture our young, so that we become a society driven by innovation. An excitement with science and technology has to be part of any vision of an innovative society. It adds up to how we move up the curve, create more value in all that we do, and open up new possibilities for Singapore as an island-state in a highly competitive world.

7 The Science Centre has to be a national icon, that reflects our desire to be at the leading edge of science and technology. We are making significant investments in R&D, especially in areas like Environment and Water Technologies, Interactive and Digital Media and Biomedical Sciences. We expect expenditure on R&D to reach 3% of GDP by 2010.

8 Science Centre has to be fully part of this drive, by attuning itself to new scientific developments, strengthening its reach into our schools and developing new ways of reaching out to a wider audience. The Centre will in fact have to reinvent itself from time to time, so that it can engage a new generation of young people and visitors. Singaporeans are becoming increasing sophisticated, well-travelled and well-educated. They are demanding more from Science Centre in terms of fun, quality and enrichment. They are also growing up in an age whereby high technology is ubiquitous in the gadgets they use every day.

9 The Science Centre also has a key role to play in sustaining an interest in science in our older students and those who have left school, so that they keep up their interest, think about careers in science and technology, or simply think about how we can use science and technology to help in our daily lives. It must instill the conviction among young Singaporeans that good science can improve the quality of life and will continue to enable a small country like Singapore to surmount challenges in the future. Like how it has enabled us to ensure that future generations of Singaporeans will never be short of drinking water.

10 I have no doubt that Science Centre will continue to find new ways to enthuse a new generation of young scientists to explore the frontiers of knowledge, and to foster an interest amongst laypersons in how science can improve lives.

11 I congratulate the Boards, management and staff of the Science Centre for their accomplishment all these years. It is your strong personal passion for science that ensures that Science Centre remains well-recognised and relevant in today’s world.

12 On this note, I would like to wish the Singapore Science Centre a happy 30th anniversary!