SSYSF 2013 Camp - Science Centre

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SSYSF 2013 Camp: Innovative Sustainable Solutions for the 21st Century Date /Time: Pre Camp Briefing – August 29th 2013 Facilitators’ briefing: 4th October 2013 and 18th October 2013 Camp Dates: 21st, 23rd, 25th and 26th October 2013

Background The Shell Singapore Youth Science Festival is a national annual event jointly organised by Science Centre Singapore, the Science Teachers Association of Singapore and the Shell Companies in Singapore. SSYSF aims to give our youth a deeper insight into science and technology, and to provide them with opportunities to exchange views and experiences in science education. The SSYSF Shell Science Camp was an inaugural event this year. The Camp was seen as a good programme for the N(T) students and was strongly supported by the Ministry of Education’ Curriculum Planning & Development Division. The camp was designed to be a hands-on science adventure camp for Secondary 3 N(T) students. In an emergency scenario, students were to work with the materials they had available to ensure that they had food, water and electricity for themselves and their society. The camp objectives were to: a) create awareness of the limited resources on the planet and the need to use technology in a sustainable manner to solve global challenges; b) stimulate and reinforce interest in Sustainable Engineering through hands-on experiences; c) lead students through self-inquiry in understanding science concepts, and relating to life applications and the environment; d) encourage resourcefulness, teamwork and innovation.

The camp also aimed to give participants an exposure to hands-on Design and Technologybased solutions. The students worked together in teams to solve one of the following challenges:  Producing food on water  Harvesting Water from Air  Design and develop a Smokeless Stove Due to the nature of the challenges, the students not only gained exposure to prototype development, design, electrical and mechanical fabrication, but also an insight into social and environmental responsibility. The camp spanned a duration of 4 days. Participants attended a pre-camp briefing. Each school was encouraged to send a team of 2 students to participate in this event. The target participation was 40 students. There was no registration fee for the inaugural camp. Summary of camp programme

Students had to be present at the Science Centre on the days indicated. They could use the days in between to discuss with their team members and plan their project. The dates for the camp were: Pre-camp briefing – 29th August (2pm to 5pm) Day 1: Monday, 21st October 2013, 9am to 6pm Day 2: Wednesday, 24th October 2013, 9am to 6pm Day 3: Friday, 25th October 2013, 9am to 8pm Day 4: Saturday, 26th October 2013, 9am to 5pm The half day pre-camp briefing included an orientation and familiarisation session that allowed the students to understand the nature of the challenge, meet facilitators and form their teams. Sufficient facilitators consisting of Science Centre staff and teachers were recruited to ensure camp participants were mentored closely. Date / Time Thu 29th August 2013, 2 – 5pm

Programme

Mon 21st October 2013, 9am - 6pm

Social and Environmental responsibility Competency sharing Research Building mock-ups using CAD software

Wed 23rd October 2013, 9am – 6pm

Mechanical fabrication: 3D printing, CNC machining Electrical fabrication: Circuits, soldering, Arduino

Fri 25th October 2013, am – 8pm

Makerthon (Part1) Designing, fabricating and prototyping solutions for demonstration to judges.

Sat 26th October 2013, 9am to 5pm

Makerthon (Part 2) Designing, fabricating and modifying final prototype for demonstration at 5pm to a panel of judges. A barbeque will be held at 5.30pm to give students an opportunity to socialise and wind down after the intensive makerthon.

Pre-camp briefing: Familiarisation, Orientation and Group formation.

Activities The camp received a signup of 37 students from 17 schools. ITE College West also supported with 10 student facilitators to mentor the students during the camp. The ITE facilitators were from the Schools of Mechatronics and Electrical and Electronic Engineering. A few had taken part earlier in the Shell Eco Marathon. During the pre camp briefing, the students were asked to form teams and choose their challenges. A total of nine teams were formed, with 3 teams trying to solve the same challenge in different ways.

During the camp, students were placed in an immersion scenario and began their day by developing quick solutions to 1. Pitch a shelter 2. Start a fire 3. Filter water. They were then given technical introductions and clinics on the following topics: Mind mapping, Sketching, Story boarding, Scientific Inquiry, 3D printing, Laser Cutting, Wood Work, Cardboard Prototyping and Arduino Electronics in order to help them with the solutions that they needed to develop. At the end of the camp, the teams were asked to present their solutions, in an informal setting, to a panel of judges. One team from each challenge was selected as the winner. A special mention was also made for the “Most Hardworking team”. This mention was given to the team which tried the hardest, despite the multitude of challenges, to get their project working. In addition to this, a facebook group was also set up under https://www.facebook.com/groups/ShellSustainabilityCamp2013/ . The students were invited to join the facebook group so that they could continue thinking and acting on the camp philosophy and ideas after the camp. Activity breakdown by day Day 1 Students began with an immersion scenario where they built a quick solution to the problems in half a day. The session was held at the Eco garden in Science Centre. The activity was a combination of ice breaker and Science immersion. The students enjoyed getting their hands dirty, literally, and tested out their first prototypes. In the afternoon, students were started off with technical sessions – sketching and mind mapping. The day concluded with a trip to ITE College West where they were shown some of the solutions for the problems. Students visited the innovation lab, as well as the renewable energy lab.

Day 2 On day two, students first went through a challenge brainstorming session. After the brainstorming session, students had a rough idea on the solution they needed to develop and accordingly signed up for maker classes. The maker classes offered to the students were 3D printing, Wood working, Cardboard prototyping, Arduino, Storyboarding, Laser Cutting. At the end of the morning, teams came up with a materials list and then went on a shopping trip to Enterprise Hub and Sim Lim Tower. They were given a small allowance for purchases. Day 3 and 4 Students underwent an intensive Makerthon. This makerthon took place at different venues across Science Centre, namely Ecolab, Ecogarden, Digital Design Studio and Movie Studio. The makerthon adopted a barcamp approach, with the students working on their solutions and the facilitators either moving around between the students, or installed in various stations, in case students had questions or needed a refresher on what they had learnt the previous day. The makerthon ended on Day 4, 26th October, at 2.30 pm. The students then presented their solutions to a panel of judges in an informal ceremony. As part of the evening’s programme,

Professor Prahlad from NUS, who is active in the field of frugal engineering, gave a keynote address to the group. Families and teachers of students, as well as representatives from MOE, attended the ceremony. Judges for projects Dr Prahlad Vadakkepat: National University of Singapore Dr Kiruthika Ramanathan: Science Centre Singapore Mr Jackson Yeow: Science Centre Singapore Mr Chun Song Goo: Science Centre Singapore Winners Solving the Challenge of Growing Food on Water Name School Justin Seet Presbyterian High School Goh Yun Hui Evergreen Secondary School Cynthia Sudirgo Balestier Hill Secondary School Solving the Challenge of Harvesting Water from air Name School Kok Wei Xuan, Kelly Dunman Secondary School Tan Lin Yi Dunman Secondary School Mohammed Haikal Christchurch Secondary Solving the Smokeless Stoves Challenge Name Bobby s/o Nantakumar Kishan Melvin Lam Jordan Tang

School Bowen Secondary School Bowen Secondary School Holy Innocents High School Swiss Cottage Secondary School

Special Mention for the most hardworking team overall (Solving the Harvesting Water from Air challenge) Name School Chamus Chew Christchurch Secondary School Khadijah Bte Taha Damai Secondary School Khalisah Bte Taha Damai Secondary School Observations The planning for the inaugural camp began only in July. Despite the lateness of the announcement, we were able to meet the targeted number of participants. This was because of strong support from CPDD, MOE and STAS members who helped promote in schools. ITE student facilitation ITE College West also strongly supported the camp, helping out both in terms of sending students as well as in the use of their 3D printer for the camp and in conducting a tour of the college for the participants. The student facilitators were very good at mediating between the students and providing helpful information about possible future courses of study in ITE.

Facebook interaction The setting up of the facebook group was a good decision as a lot of activity is happening on the group even after the camp. The pages started at the pre-camp briefing to enable the students to start the bonding process and think about possible ideas. Notable were cases where students, who were allowed to bring their prototypes home, continued working on the project and put up their work on the facebook. The participating students became interested in continuing to volunteer their time with Maker activities at Science Centre and some expressed their desire to volunteer as facilitators in the upcoming Hackidemia DIY Bio Hacking Workshop < https://www.facebook.com/events/235275603304523/> to be held at Science Centre.

Photographs and participant reflections An extensive collection of photos can be found at the facebook groups https://www.facebook.com/groups/ShellSustainabilityCamp2013/

Pre-Camp Briefing

Students presented initial ideas during pre-camp briefing

Day 1

Day 1: Campers thinking that they are in a real disaster

Day 1: Campers filter water, build shelter, make fire and cook

Day 1: “Water Tribe” presents their innovative solutions

Day 1: ITE Lecturer Mr Tay shares his passion in innovation

Day 2

Day 2: Campers do electronic prototyping with Arduino

Day 2: Campers use electronics to create a garden soil sensor

Campers learn woodworking outdoors

Day 2: Campers learn to ask and buy materials for projects

Day 3

Day 3: Village 1 start to prototype their floating farms

Day 3: Jordan from Village 3 prototypes his solar cooker

Day 3: Campers from Village 2 harvesting water from air

Day 4

Day 4: Guiding Village 1 to code sensors for farms

Hafiz, our lead facilitator from ITE College West, mentoring the campers and generally boosting morale at the end of a long day

Students presenting their work to the judges and demonstrating their prototypes. This team was named the most hardworking team that tirelessly improved their design: Harvesting water from air.

Participants of the camp after the final presentations

Family members, students, facilitators and teachers joined the barbecue on the last day of camp, where one of the features was the smokeless stove developed by the students, which was used to toast marshmallows.

Post camp facebook activity where a student shared his continuation of project for other students to think about.