Organised by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Science Centre Singapore, the two-week-long Singapore Science Festival 2019 (SSF) will take place between 30 August and 14 September across Singapore.
Aimed this year to celebrate and spread appreciation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Chief Executive of Science Centre Singapore Associate Professor Lim Tit Meng believes that SSF 2019, now in its 19th iteration, will serve in “demonstrating that STEM is omnipresent and part of every aspect of our lives”.
Over 50 activities, workshops and games have been planned for a wide variety of participants, and includes the return of Science Buskers Festival and X-periment! @ one-north Festival. This year, the SSF also aims to involve members of the public in a record-breaking attempt involving slime-making.
Executive Director at A*STAR Graduate Academy and Senior Principle Investigator of the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), Professor Lisa Ng believes that STEM awareness spread by SSF is key to the growth of talent and development of cutting-edge technologies.
Ng highlighted a collaboration between A*STAR and National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) that discovered a method to “starve” cancer cells of a nutrient usually found in meat, fish and dairy products.
With persistent climate concerns, researchers at A*STAR in collaboration with industry figures also aims to convert CO2, a greenhouse gas, to fuel and other useful chemicals.
SSF 2019’s various activities will encompass a whole host of topics, and are designed for a variety of ages and backgrounds.
1. Is it Fruit Ninja? Is it Flappy Bird? No – it’s Dude.sg! (via Instagram, ongoing)
Local artist Eugene Soh, founder of Dude.sg and Mind Palace has been commissioned to create and develop an augmented reality game as part of SSF 2019.
Free to download and access via Instagram, Soh’s creation challenges participants to compete to virtually chomp down on as many virtual watermelons as possible within a limited time.
2. Slimy Record Attempt (Fusionopolis Atrium, 13 Sep)
The Science Centre Singapore has collaborated with young slime creator Tan Her Joo, 15, owner of Berrylicious Slime (@berrylicious.slime) to create “Singapore’s Largest Slime Installation” on September 13. Alexander van Herk, Principal Scientist II at A*STAR will be on hand to endorse the attempt.
Members of the public are encouraged to be part of this attempt, and the resultant slime will be divided and distributed at X-periment! to hundreds of participants.
3. The Science Buskers Festival (Plaza Singapura, 30th & 31st August)
Bringing together 721 participants from 58 schools, the largest group of buskers to date, the Science Buskers Festival returns with a bang with the likes of Eddie Goldstein, American magician and science educator.
Known widely for his Magical Math and Science Show, Goldstein will be on hand to perform entertaining scientific demonstrations and sleight of hand tricks.
Other acts include Chroma by students from Beatty Secondary School that showcases how different clear liquids like lemon juice and bleach react with cabbage water to produce different colours based on pH level.
Aged 10, Buskers Jagarapu and Kikkeri from Bukit View Primary School will perform as the Mystery Busketeers in demonstrating how force and pressure interact with self-created hydraulic implements like a projectile launcher.
4. National Science Challenge (Televised, Tuesdays at 7:30 from 20 Aug to 24 Sep)
In its 16th season, the National Science Challenge brings students across 43 secondary schools together to face off over their scientific knowledge.
5. Many other festival events (Various locations)
Find out how different ingredients affect taste, texture and consistency with Incredible Edibles, The Chemistry of Cookies by Kate Mulcahy, or catch Science Shows @ SSF by the Royal Institution of the United Kingdom.
Famed British author and geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford will also be featured in Star Lecture 2019, where he answers the perennial question – Who am I? as he draws comparisons with animals and genetic ancestors.
There will also be a 2D Stack Art, Tangram & Packaging Workshop for participants to go hands-on in creating their own 3D sculptures from 2D structures or manufacture creative packaging solutions.
The SSF 2019 Satellite Workshops will bring industry professionals around Singapore in showcasing how science and technology shapes our everyday life.
DinoQuest involves multiple senses to immerse participants back to the Cretaceous period.
For those who love making and building, the Future Makers Guided Tour (The Tensegrity Challenge) is an exclusive guided tour at the Science Centre’s latest exhibit showcasing incredible, complex engineering marvels.
Amoozing Milk & Unbeli-bubble brings participants on a hands-on experience to learn more about the science behind milk and soap bubbles.
Adventurous individuals might enjoy This is Science: Exhibit Hunt, an exhibit hunt at the Science Centre Singapore to win a token upon successful completion.
The Inflatable Organ Experience brings gigantic, inflatable organ exhibits to educate and immerse participants as they learn how their bodies function and how to take good care of them.
Hot weather? No sweat. The Snow Science Festival @ Snow City offers a unique (to sunny Singapore) climate for special science experiments at sub-zero temperatures.
Learn more about the events, along with location and timing details at the official website for Singapore Science Festival 2019.
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