Science Week
During 8th to 12th May, our School organized the Science Week for all students. Various science activities were arranged to let students explore the mystery of Science and arouse their interest and curiosity in learning Science.
The following are some highlights of the Science Week:
Embryos and larvae observation
On 8th May, students were introduced the embryos and larvae (Nauplii) of various organisms in the covered-playground during lunch. Students took this opportunity to examine the developmental biology of aquatic creatures under the microscope. It gave students a better understanding about the life cycle of shrimps. In addition, students were also surprised by the gigantic size of the bull frog tadpoles introduced, which were even bigger than the size of golden frogs!
Students were fascinated about the observation and many signed up for the after-school shrimp egg hatching workshop. All in all, students developed greater interest in learning embryonic development of shrimps.
Shrimp egg hatching workshop
On the same day after school, a group of junior form students participated in the shrimp egg hatching workshop at the Biology Lab. They performed a scientific investigation on the effect of optimum salt concentration on shrimp eggs hatching.. Two days later, they came back to the lab and identified the best condition for shrimp egg hatching. Students finally discovered the developmental biology of shrimp embryos!
Smoking in your eyes
On 11th May, “Smoke getting in your eyes” was held at the covered-playground during lunch time. Students learned the Bernoulli’s principle through the activity. It was successful as all the participants could make their own giant rings by using smoking machine and water bottles!
Molecular Cuisine
“Molecular cuisine” was held after school in the Chemistry Laboratory on 11th May as well. Students learned a process called spherification in preparing meals. By using sodium alginate and calcium lactate, and with suitable apparatus, the appearance of food could be totally changed. In the future, we can apply this principle to make environment friendly edible water bottles.
Robotics Demonstration
On 10th May, a group of Form 3 Physics students demonstrated the robots they had been built using LEGO Mindstorm EV3 to other fellow students in the covered-playground during lunch. They built 4 Robots in total, including one which could wave and say “Hello” to other people. They explained to fellow students how they had used different electronic and mechanical components to build the robots and how they had written programs to control the movement of the robots. Students even got the chance to use the robotic arm and i-pad to control the robots to complete different tasks.
A lot of students participated in this activity. They all enjoyed it and developed great interest in Robotics and related science concepts.
Pressure Challenge
On 10th May, 8 teams of three to four students participated in the “Pressure Challenge” after school in the Physics Laboratory. They had to complete 3 tasks making use of atmospheric pressure within a fix period of time.
Task 1: To inflate a balloon inside a bottle
Task 2: To transfer water from a glass bottle to a cup without lifting up both the glass bottle and the cup.
Task 3: To transfer water from the cup back to the glass bottle without lifting up the cup.
All students enjoyed the competition and learned how to make better use of atmospheric pressure.
Champion team
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1st runner-up team
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2nd runner-up team
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Water rocket competition
Form 2 integrated science students designed water rockets based on their knowledge and understanding about forces and aerodynamics. Students showed great enthusiasm in the preparation work and designed their water rockets. During lunch time, the best performing teams from each class brought their refined water rocket for the final competition. The distance travelled by each rocket was measured and awards were presented to students as follows:
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Film making competition and Energy converter sharing
Integrated science students gathered after school to conduct some sharing regarding their findings and achievements in their projects. Representatives from each Form 1 class demonstrated their energy converters that they had designed using simple materials. For Form 2, representatives from each class showed the short film that they had produced with the theme of “A day in space”. The students showcased their talents and creativity through the projects. A number of prizes were presented to the students as follows:
Energy converter
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"A day in space” film making competition
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This year, a lot more students joined the science activities and they all had great fun and laughter. All in all, the science week was a wonderful week that conveyed an important message to both students and teachers that science is important in our lives and a better understanding about science is crucial to make our world more environmentally-friendly.
