July 19, 2011
At 8.15 a.m., I went to National Science and Technology Museum by i-EARN’s bus. I was rarely went to the museum. In my province, there is no museum. I have ever been to the museum in Bangkok when I was a child, for about 2-3 times. I was very excited that I would go to the museum in Kaohsiung!
It was very big museum. The first activity I did called Crazy Scientist.
Crazy? Am I crazy?
No, it was just an interesting name. However, it was very fun. It could make me crazy to know How? And Why?
First activity, we made the shackle hitch iron hoop. The manual which came with the shackle and iron hoop say “the shackle can hitch iron hoop voluntarily” but it wasn’t easy like it say. Many times the hoop fell, the shackle didn’t hitch it. After long puzzling moment, my teammate taught me how to do this and I could do it easily. Although there was no answer of How? and Why? Question, I was glad to know I could do this.
Next, we worked with the flat balloon, we outstretched it until we couldn’t outstretch it anymore. Then we touched the thigh balloon on the skin above our lip. I could feel the heat of it, it was hot. After that we tried another way, we outstretched it then loosened it and touched on the skin again. This time it was cold, very cold. That surprised me very much. After we finished proving about amazing science experiments with balloon, then we tore the balloon empty handed.
Was it impossible?
At first it was but when the staff taught me the right way, I could tear it easily. (in fact it was quite easy) If you want to tear the balloon with empty hand, follow the steps below.
1. Carry the flat balloon with 2 hands.
2. Outstretch it, then loosen it quickly.
3. Repeat step no.2 by all of your strength as fast as you can, do it again and again until the balloon is torn.
4. If all of these don’t work, you have to try another way. (I’m so sorry for wasting your time ;-()
After our balloon was torn, we tried to cut plastic straw, plastic syringe and plastic tube. We could cut them in two parts by using a string and some trick about heat.
Then we made the toy which has sound like frog’s sound. The toy made of a small piece of card board, a bead, an elastic band and, a yarn.
When you pull the yarn, it will make sound like frog’s sound. (for me it was the sick frog’s sound :-D)
I’m always excited about science experiment although I can’t understand it well. I’m student in Arts-Math program and my brain lacks of science skills. (maybe Math, too) So, I could tell you how interesting and exciting the activities was but I couldn’t explain about the theories which the staffs have taught me. Forgive me for that, please. Science is always hard for me. I regard the scientists who create all theories and all innovations in this world very much. I enjoyed all activities there.
Next activity called Solar Car Racing. The first time I saw the name of activity, I thought I have to race in solar car by myself. In fact, I had to make a little solar car for racing. They gave solar car motor and other accessories such the wheels, the gears, and the axles to me. The motor was the most important part which made the car run. There was a little solar cell on it. When the sunlight shines on it, the motor works. One thing I had to do was decorating the motor with accessories. I felt like I’m making a car toy. I had to be sure that the accessory I put wouldn’t stop car’s running.
When I finished, I went for test and went to racing. We went outside for sunlight. Although it was cloudy today, the motor could work, my car could run. Although it didn’t run well, I was proud.
I thought people in Kaohsiung were active to use solar energy very much. They were the good example about saving environment and doing good thing for our world by using renewable energy. That was wonderful!
After Solar Car Racing was finished, I had lunch and waited for next activity. There was strict garbage separation’ rule there. When I finished lunch, I had to separate my garbage and take it into the right bin. People were active to save this world very much! How great it is!
Next activity, I was proud to present Treasure Hunting! I could say it was the most favorite activity for me. My team crossed the road to another building of the museum. There was Climate Chang Exhibition there. We learned the knowledge about climate change from the exhibition then our mentor would give the mission to us. After the mission was completed, our mentor would give the stickers to us. We had to collect the stickers to make complete joker’s picture. I thought a picture would be the key for last mission.
The first mission was about acting. We set the line. The head of the line would receive the secret word from the mentor(Others in the line wouldn’t know). Then he/she signaled that word by acting to the next person. Lastly, the last of the line had to answer the right word. We played 3 rounds, I played 2 of them. The words we signaled were ‘Typhoon’, ‘Tsunami’, and ‘Bicycle’. I thought some of them were hard to act like Typhoon. The funniest thing of this game was create acting. I had to act like the person who stood before me although I didn’t know what the answer was. We had to trust others and act like them as much as we can for sending the right signal to the last of the line.
The second mission was bingo. We had to choose the question from 9 secret cards on the floor and answer it correctly to make it bingo. All of question was about environment. My friends were very smart so we could pass it easily.
The next mission was about greenhouse gas. We had to answer the question about greenhouse gas by touching the answer on a big touch screen monitor. For my lack of chemistry skill and Chinese (the question on the screen was Chinese) I couldn’t help my friends much. I watched them and cheered.
There were many high-tech tools in this museum. I enjoyed it very much. One of them was the important part of our mission ‘Row the boat’. There was a boat for 4 people and a big screen. The screen shows the view of rower (animation). We had to use our strength (real strength) row the boat to the red flag and answer 4 True or False questions. If you choose wrong answer, you have to start again. I was excited to row this boat very much, it was very high-tech tool which I have never seen before.
The last mission of Treasure Hunting was telling the idea for saving environment. Then we went to the space where a big screen has. After collected all stickers, we got a picture of joker. There was the empty space at the backside of the picture. We drew the picture or wrote the word in that. Then we put it in scanner and waited until our picture showed on the screen. The tools there were very wonderful!
The last activity of this day for my team was Dam Design. Taiwan always faces Typhoon. That disaster causes the flood and mudslide. In this activity we would design the dam to protect the village. It was pair work, I matched with Taiwanese friend. The dam was just a model which made from plastic stick and elastic band. After we finished, we had to go to dam contest. There was a little slider so each team (as the mountain’s slope). We had to put the dam in the middle of slider then they would release the marbles from the top of slider for test our dam quality. If my dam could carry many marbles, I could be the winner. That wasn’t possible, my dam could carry only one marble. Another marbles went to the small village. My dam caused flood marbles. It wasn’t a good dam, it was a dam-age.(a little wordplay:-D ) I had to sorry for the villagers. ;-(
My friends were setting thier dam
I was very fun today. All knowledge I got, all activity I did, taught me to saving environment and care for our world like the iEARN Youth Summit 2011’s concept, Green Tech, Green Life, Great Era.
Save environment, save life.
Monthita Chuaythong
No comments:
Post a Comment