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Manchouck and Ms Maund enjoying a |
This year’s Tobago Science Week was staged during the period, May 14th-20th 2007, in conjunction with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). The week of activities was opened on Monday 14th May 2007 with a brief ceremony. Mrs. Claudette Allard, Chief Education Co-ordinator, Education Department in the Division of Youth Affairs and Sport gave the Welcome Address while the Feature Address was given by Mr. Walter Coppin, AO II, Division of Education, who represented the Secretary for Education, Mrs. Claudia Groome-Duke who was unavoidably absent. The event then kicked off in earnest, with its usual mix of exhibits, interactive displays, cultural items and science demonstrations.
NIHERST was happy to welcome back several agencies which came on board as partners for the Moruga Community Science Week which was held two weeks earlier, as well as new collaborators for the event.
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Learning about the cocoa harvest from staff |
British Gas hosted a game for young visitors which featured an analogy between an industrial plant and a living plant. The little ones got very involved in the energy and excitement of the activity, linking plastic beads to represent chains of hydrocarbons, the backbone of the energy industry. The Cocoa and Coffee Industry Board shared its enlightening story of the processing of these local produce, complete with samples including “cocoa tea”.
The Buccoo Reef Trust and Environment Tobago, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Marine Resources and Fisheries of the THA, provided interesting one-on-one discussions of initiatives in environmental protection. Their staff handed out reference literature to students of science in secondary schools. Younger ones were also happy to receive colouring books and stickers which aided their identification of local marine animals.
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NEMA’s live demonstration of safety procedures |
NEMA, the National Emergency Management Authority took visitor interaction to a new level, inviting volunteers to be strapped into neck braces and stretchers to demonstrate their techniques in emergency response. They also provided several useful tips on safety both during and outside of emergency situations.
In the main hall of the Fairfield Complex, visitors were able to experience a ‘star show’ in the large dome of the Planetarium, and learn about the internal structure of the body through guided displays of larger-than-life-size models. Other exhibits provided baseline information on oil and gas exploration and an “Illusions” exhibit kept visitors amazed on the complexity of seemingly simple visual elements.
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Building and programming robots in Robomania |
One student from the Pentecostal Light and Life Foundation High School, who was interviewed on the second day of the event, indicated that it was his second Tobago Science Week, having visited during the 2003 staging. He was happy to see new things this time, mentioning that the week was a good thing since it made science even more exciting – being able to experience science in action rather than through taking notes in school.
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Building and programming robots in Robomania |
A group of students from Speyside Anglican Primary School particularly liked the energy exhibits, and took turns several times over to generate electrical energy from their mechanical effort. They though that these displays were “the best”, closely followed by the human body models.
The special “Career Day” which took place midweek hosted students of trade schools and the traditional academic schools, who benefited from direct interface with staff of the University of Trinidad and Tobago, the University of the West Indies, the United States Information Service, the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute among others in planning future career pathways.
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Making Cartesian divers at the post-SEA workshop |
Apart from these on-site activities, Tobago students who had recently written the SEA examination also benefited from the hosting of science workshops in three schools. These workshops featured fun experimentation to investigate “What’s in a leaf?”, “dancing raisins”, “Cartesian divers” and other interesting science tricks. Staff of the Creative Design Lab at the National Science Centre also hosted two workshops in creativity later on in the week.
One of the student explainers from Signal Hill Senior Comprehensive School who worked alongside the NIHERST team, felt that his stint as a guide was a good experience. He hopes to get into a career in forensic science and having to learn the scientific content of the exhibit in order to assist visitors, helped him to solidify his theoretical knowledge. He also enjoyed the responsiveness of the younger students from primary school, who respectfully listened in awe as he interacted with them.
The week seemed to have been an event that left the 3200 visitors thirsting for more. A teacher from the Mason Hall Government Secondary School felt that while the content was good in providing an expansion of the average visitor’s general knowledge, it was perhaps time to host a full-fledged science festival in Tobago – one with more depth and breadth on a larger scale and for a longer time frame than the Science Week offers.
(Who knows? Maybe it’s also time to establish Tobago’s very own Science Centre too! )
NIHERST keeps its wishful thinking positive, and extends a warm thank you to all who contributed to the success of the Tobago Science Week project. Keep sending your requests for a science outreach activity in your area…maybe one day the Science Week caravan can come to share “Science For All” in your community too!
Written: May 2007
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