Tangible gain in hands-on science
Budding scientists have only limited opportunities to conduct experiments in overcrowded classrooms. Instead, students are often forced to watch, read or hear about the mysteries of science, which is like learning to swim without getting wet.
This summer, though, sees several opportunities for Hong Kong students to paddle in these intriguing waters.
In July, the British Council will unveil its Science Alive Festival, a two-hander which consists of the Science Exhibition and Dazzled, a theatre production about light, sight, and colour. The exhibition, aimed at nine to 14-year-olds, will present 20 interactive experiments which demonstrate one of four themes: 'Round and Round', 'Fields and Forces', 'Light and Sound' and 'Water'. Students get to predict what colour is produced by red and green spinning discs, speculate why the Chaos Pendulum never repeats the same movement twice, and design their own whirlpools. An added feature is the 'do-it-yourself' corner.
The exhibition will be open to the public from July 1 to August 31 at the British Council before going on tour to local primary and secondary schools at the start of the academic year in September until the end of December. Schools can also register for official study tours at the council. From July 1 to July 12, Floating Point Science Theatre will in addition perform Dazzled, which was written for Hong Kong students. The UK troupe, which performs regularly in Hong Kong, is targeting five to 11-year-olds and is planning 20 school visits plus three public performances at the British Council and Hong Kong Science Museum
The two UK actors will perform the show with local actor William Yip Shun-him, a graduate from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and a specialist in children's theatre.
Science Workshop, meanwhile, will be offering regular sessions in science throughout the summer break. Based in Central, the workshop will run 70 week-long and weekend courses for children aged three to 15, covering for example botany, zoology, oceanography, and dinosaurs.
'What we recommend is very different to science in local schools,' says executive director Danni Hong Choy. 'In the local system classes are too big and pupils often just watch the teacher carry out the experiment. In our workshops there are 12 children max and everyone has a go.' Head of teacher training at Science Workshop Leela Goswami says you only really learn by doing. 'This approach reflects the thinking behind an old Chinese proverb. You hear and you forget, you see and you remember, you do and you understand.'
