Science programme draws record crowd
KUCHING: A record 20 primary schools in Serian participated in the ‘Science Outreach Programme for Rural Schools 2018’ organised by Tun Abdul Razak Campus Teachers Education Institute ( IPGKTAR), in Kampung Pichin recently.
Held at SK St Dominic Pichin, the programme – now in its fifth year – was a joint effort by IPGKTAR’s Science Department and Yayasan Sarawak.
According to the organisers, the number of participating schools this year was the highest since the programme’s inception in 2014.
“The main objective of the programme is to provide the opportunity and experience of fun- learning science which diverges from the routine classroom learning.
“Additionally, it also aims to inculcate interest in learning science among rural primary school pupils. Altogether, 60 Year 5 pupils participated the outreach programme whereas 270 teachers and pupils visited the science exhibition,” said the organisers in a statement.
Among the activities was a science exhibition where the pupils were given the opportunity to interact with the exhibited objects and items.
Through the hands- on and minds- on activities, the pupils were able to enhance their understanding of the related science concepts.
Besides the exhibition, the participants also took part in two innovation contests – Innovation Path and ‘Saya Perkasa’.
Both contests assessed the pupils from various aspects such as higher order thinking skills, creativity, problem solving and teamwork.
For the Innovation Path category, first place was won by SK Tebedu followed by SK Sejijag and SK Gahat Mawang in second and third, respectively.
The winner of the ‘Saya Perkasa’ category was SK Sungai Sameran, with SK Tema in second place and SK Parun Suan, third.
As for the Year 5 students, they attended a workshop in the afternoon on techniques to answer UPSR questions.
During the closing speech, the representative of IPGKTAR director Dr Poon Cheng Yong extended her gratitude to Yayasan Sarawak for funding the programme, and to the management of SK St Dominic Pichin for the cooperation and support in making the programme come to fruition.
“It was hoped that the said cooperation and collaborative effort between the schools and the Science Department of IPGKTAR will continue in the future.”