Since last year, DSO has been organising a series of unique nation-wide competitions to engage and inspire the younger generation's interests in science and technology.
Known as the DSO Amazing Series of Competitions, thousands of students have put themselves up to the challenges of the Singapore Amazing Machine Competition (SAMC), Singapore Amazing Flying Machine Competition (SAFMC) and the upcoming Amazing Science-X Challenge (ASXC).
Held at the Science Centre on 22 August 2009, the SAMC 2009 Award Presentation Ceremony had an electrifying atmosphere, as more than 200 distinguished guests, teachers and students eagerly awaited the finals results. Their challenge this year - to design and build a machine with the most number of steps to successfully hoist their school flag.
Sounds almost like an impossible task? Read on to find out more!
Delighful Complexity
Organised by DSO, NUS High School of Mathematics and Science (NUSH) and Science Centre, SAMC 2009 was graced by Dr Tan Kim Siew, Permanent Secretary (Defence Development), Ministry of Defence, as its guest-of-honour.
In his opening speech, Dr Tan shared his amazement with the fascinating machines on display last year, and how he was looking forward to seeing more amazing machines this year. He stressed the importance of science and engineering in Singapore's future, and how "being creative and inventive is no longer a bonus, but a necessity." Inspiring the audience with the machines on display today, he added "...all of you have the innate ability to create things when given the opportunity to do so. The ideas you see on display here show that the possibilities for innovation are endless, and your imaginative machines are testament to your unlimited potential."
A promising sign indeed, as this year's competition saw more than 160 entries, as compared to 124 last year. 41 teams also made it to the finals, as compared to only 31 teams last year. Beyond the sheer number of entries, new awards such as the Most Innovative Machine, Most Environmentally Friendly Machine, Machine with the Most Number of Science Concepts and an award for the Best Effort Team were also given out to each division of the competition.
Team 'Jolly Roger' from Tao Nan Primary impressed the judges with their "Go Green" machine, which was literally entirely made up of recycled materials. "The moment we signed up for the competition, we started collecting whatever we could find!" exclaimed Vina Chew, one of the excited team members. "Every time my mum wanted to throw something away, I will stop her. She now calls me The Garbage Girl!" laughs Shirley Yee, another team member. "But never mind, The Garbage Girl and her team won!" she quips.
Photo Caption: Team 'Jolly Roger' from Tao Nan Primary School standing proudly by their environmentally machine.
For Denise Lim and her team mates from Raffles Girls' School (RGS), who won the Machine with the Most Number of Science Concepts Award, it took "uncountable" hours to realise their dream machine. "It was very challenging trying to come up interesting scientific concepts to wow the judges. I am glad we managed to do so, but next time, we have to make sure the machine works better!"
Photo Caption: Looks complex? It is! No wonder this machine from Team 'Operation Amazon' of RGS won the machine with the Most Number of Science Concepts Award.
The Stars of SAMC 2009
Of course, the limelight of the competition went to the top winners of the two divisions. Team 'Up It Go' from Unity Primary School claimed Division One's top prize, while the 'Amazing Machine' team from NUSH was the Division Two's winner. Both teams were able to use their creativity and innovativeness to incorporate interesting scientific concepts into their steps. Most importantly, the machines worked well!
Photo Caption: The all-girls team from Team 'Up It Go', Unity Primary School.
There were also awards for overall school effort. Unity Primary and RGS emerged the Overall Top School winners in Division One and Two respectively. As a matter of fact, Unity Primary School submitted 52 team entries, with 12 teams going into the finals. "The students really enjoyed this competition. You can tell how much fun they have and what they have learnt as they to put together their machines." explains Mr Kelvin Lim, Head of Science, Unity Primary School.
Spotting another "star" in the competition was Adli Irfan Anuar from Unity Primary School, the same boy who gave Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean a "flying lesson" with his winning paper plane during the SAFMC 2009 Award Presentation Ceremony. Although his team did not win this year's SAMC challenge, he is already gearing up for SAFMC 2010. "It will be nice to show Minister Teo my newer and better plane next year!" he said.
Furthering the Partnetship Between DSO & NUSH
The Award Presentation Ceremony also saw DSO and NUSH sign a Memorandum of Understanding to continue their collaboration in SAMC, as well as in other areas. This signifies both institutions' commitment to inspire young talent towards a research career in science and engineering.
Besides bringing SAMC to greater heights, DSO will also be partnering NUSH in its annual Research Congress. This is an excellent opportunity for NUS High students to showcase their research projects, many which will be mentored by DSO's scientists and engineers. The Research Congress looks set to become an inspiring platform for an exchange of research ideas and knowledge.
The MOU also saw the establishment of the DSO STudents Academic enRichment Award, or DSO STAR Award. Recipients of this award will be able to pursue undergraduate modules in NUS ahead of their peers. By providing the opportunity to work closely with like-minded professors, both DSO and NUSH hope to inspire the students to embark on an exciting R&D career.
To view the media coverage and press release, click here:
|