Mr Toshiaki Fujiki, Managing Director, Sony Electronics Singapore,
Dr Lee Song Choon, Senior Director, Education, Dome & Observatory, Science Centre Board,
Distinguished guests,
Teachers, parents, boys and girls,
1.Good afternoon, everyone.
2.Imagine you are rock climbing, muscles straining, and trying not to slip. Most of us would be focused on just making it to the top.
- But for Kantaro Urano, a Primary 5 student from Boon Lay Garden Primary School, he was also wondering – what forces are at work here?
- Kantaro noticed how muscle strength and friction worked against gravity to help a climber go up, and that curiosity led him to create “Magnet Climbers”, a toy that uses magnetic force to similarly help a character climb upwards.
- That is what makes learning exciting. When we are curious about the world around us, our routine activities can give us inspiration and spark a new idea. And we celebrate that spirit of learning today.
Learning through play and creation
3.The Sony Creative Science Award, or SCSA in short, gives our primary school students an opportunity to explore science beyond the classroom through play and toymaking.
4.In designing and making their toys, our students apply scientific concepts, ask questions, and bring their ideas to life.
5.But beyond content knowledge, we also want to celebrate the qualities our students have developed along the way – the curiosity to ask questions, the resilience to keep trying, and the creativity to always be experimenting with something new.
6.There is science and learning to be had every day, and being curious about experiences all around us can become the starting point for a new idea.
7.And when we implement a new idea, things may not always work out the first time. Students have to test their ideas, figure out what went wrong, make adjustments, and try again. This process of tinkering, trying, and improving is one of the greatest forms of learning. As Thomas Edison once said, he did not fail 999 times – he just needed 999 tries before succeeding on the 1000th attempt. Through this, our students deepen their understanding of science and learn to be more creative, adaptive, and flexible in their thinking.
Learning from our students
8.We can see this spirit of experimentation in Hong Yu Xi and Karis Heng Sing Jooh, Primary 5 students from Yew Tee Primary School.
- When their launcher for “Ball Jumper” initially did not work as planned, they set about doing all they could to make it work.
- They refined the design, learnt to use sensors to detect the ball and update the digital scoreboard, and worked through problems with the power supply one by one, until the ball could land consistently.
- What was impressive was not just the final product, but the process of getting there. They figured out the problem, and kept improving until they perfected the solution.
9.Yu Xi, Karis, and Kantaro show us that the greatest learning is obtained when we do not get the right answer immediately. It is when we are willing to ask questions, try something new, and are not afraid to make mistakes. It is through this process of exploring, trying and improving that our students build their confidence.
Supporting our young scientists
10.And our students can always take heart that our teachers and parents are with them in this journey of learning, who encourage them and give them the confidence to try new things.
11.To our teachers, thank you for making science come alive for your students. Beyond teaching scientific concepts, you encourage them to ask questions, think creatively, and discover new things. These are valuable lessons that go well beyond the classroom.
12.To our parents, thank you for supporting your children's interests and ideas. When your child comes up to you with a question, you always take the time to guide them on their learning journey and encourage them to explore and try new things. When their ideas do not work the first time, you are the person to encourage them to try again. And through this, you help your children build confidence and tenacity to keep going, and discover the joy of learning and experimenting.
Conclusion
13.Finally, to all our students, I hope you have enjoyed designing and making your toys, and that you will continue to be curious about the world around you. What is a toy today can become a great invention of tomorrow.
14.Stay curious and keep trying out new ideas. The world is your oyster, and you never know what you will create next.
15.Congratulations once again to all our participants and award recipients. I would also like to thank Science Centre Board and the Sony Group of Companies in Singapore for organising the SCSA, as well as our teachers, parents, judges and partners for your support. Let us keep nurturing that curiosity and resilience in our students.
16.Thank you.