Dividends at the science fairs

Title

Identifier

Science & Technology

Language

English

Source

The Republic (2) 31 March 1973

Year

1973

Subject

Science fairs -- Philippines

Science -- Study and teaching -- Philippines

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Science & Technology Dividends at the science fairs Wine out of camias leaves. Garlic to preserve meat and fish dishes. A mul tipurpose bicycle for pumping water, for sawing wood, and for keeping the body trim. Plastic, varnish, explosives, adhesives, and nail polish out of resin extracted from apitong leaves. These are but a few of the hundreds of inventions and discoveries by young Filipinos spawned by the science fairs conducted annually throughout the country under the aus pices of the Science Foundation of the Philippines (SFP). Their discoveries are not yet being commercially produced, but the young scientists hope that their creations eventually will save money for the country by supplanting expensive im ported devices with inexpensive native ones. Already, some of the more notable ejects displayed in the science fairs ^•e being patented or have been sent to the Philippine Inventors Commis sion for further studies. “Since most discoveries and in ventions started from curiosity, we in tend to make full use of the natural talents of our youth by motivating them to worthwhile activities,” Dr. Juan Salcedo, the 66-year-old press ident of the Foundation, told The Republic recently. Such activities include membership in science clubs and participation in science quizzes, seminars on scientific journalism for young people, youth science camps, science talent search contests, and the science fairs, which e conducted on the provincial, re‘^onal. and national levels. Himself a scientist of note credited with fortifying milled rice with vitamin Bl to prevent beri-beri, Dr. Salcedo underlined the role of science in the development of the country’s natural resources and, ultimately, in hastening national growth. Since scientists cannot be produced overnight, the annual science fairs and the more than 1,000 science clubs throughout the country were con ceived to serve as “nurseries for the development of the Philippines’ scien tific leadership.” The science fairs were started on a limited scale in the mid-sixties by the Bureau of Public Schools. The Science for schools: motivating the youth for the future. Foundation, which was created by the government to serve as an advisory body to the National Science Develop ment Board, took over the sponsor ship of the fairs in 1970 and expanded the activity to cover the entire nation. “The present crop of high school students, through a science-oriented education, will ensure the supply of adequate scientific and technological manpower for the country’s needs,” Dr. Salcedo said. The science fairs and science clubs not only provide motivation to the youth but also draw the attention of the community and, consequently, its involvement and support. Community involvement is re flected in the enthusiastic support given by various sectors in whatever site a science fair is held and the thousands of viewers flocking to the exhibits. A student’s entry becomes not just his own, but that of his school, town, or province, Last year, the SFP sponsored 11 regional fairs — in Baguio, Lucena, Iloilo, Catbalogan, Dipolog, Pasay, Tarlac, Iriga, Dumaguete, Ozamiz, and Surigao. Figures for another year (1971) showed that a total of 299 schools participated in the regional fairs, fielding 370 investigatory pro jects in four categories: biology, physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Forty of these projects made it to the national science fair. This year, the na tional fair was held in Cagayan de Oro City. March 5-9 and showcased 44 of the year’s outstanding discoveries. One of the discoveries arising from the investigatory projects is that by a 15-year-old student of Basilan City High School in Mindanao showing that Dama trima, a coconut pest, could be controlled naturally by abet ting the breeding of its insect pre dators. This could be achieved by growing flowering cover plants be tween coconut trees. Teen-aged scien tist Dennis Grino says his finding will save farmers a lot of money which they usually spend for chemical sprays. Other projects include an investiga tion into the hitherto unknown uses of the banana, production of tiles and wallboards from refuse, and countless mechanical devices that can prove ex tremely useful in the home, in the fac tory, and in the farm. Achievements like these, says Dr. Salcedo, serve not only to encourage other scientifically inclined youths to cultivate their potentials but also to open the eyes of the Filipino to the fact that, in his quest for develop ment, he can profit immensely from his own ingenuity and the wealth of locally available materials. A unique and revolutionary fivestorey museum for local inventions and devices illustrating scientific prin ciples and technological applications will soon rise on a one-hectare lot at the Philippine Science Community complex in Bicutan, Taguig, Rizal. Intended to make museum trips both educational and enjoyable, the Science and Technology Museum does not promise to be a repository of usually dull and static exhibits. “The displays will be in a state of motion and open to public touch and operation,” said Dr. Manuel I. Felizardo, vice president of the Science Foundation of the Philippines and initiator of the project. The public, especially students, will be allowed to manipulate the displays. “This is aimed at arousing the creative imagination of the viewers. The ideals that, in the process of manipulating the models, there is a possibility that a creative idea will germinate in the ma nipulator’s mind. The museum shall then have served one of its purposes,” Show window for local inventions Dr. Felizardo explained. The P7.5 million museum (exclud ing exhibits and laboratory equip ment) is expected to promote science consciousness among the people by fa miliarizing them with the various prin ciples and processes of science and technology and their application to everyday life. It will also serve as a show window of the country’s pro gress in the fields of science and tech nology. With a floor area of 10,000 square meters, the museum building will house galleries for the displays and working models, separate rooms for lecture, demonstration, reading, and printing, a film theater, a library, a feasibility studies laboratory, a gadget shop, a science clubs den, a cafeteria, and even a radio room and studio. As originally proposed by Dr. Feli zardo and accepted by the board of trustees of the SFP, the museum will have two identical towers, one for scientific displays and the other for technological displays. There will be galleries to accom modate 1,175 display units represent ing 47 sub-branches of science in one tower and an equal number of display units for 47 sub-branches of tech nology in the other tower. The science tower will deal with the pure and basic sciences like biological and physical sciences. The technology tower will deal with the applied sciences and industrial processes. To better prepare the Foundation for the management and operation of the museum, Jaime F. Paras, an archi tect and administrative assistant of SFP President Juan Salcedo, Jr., was sent to London, Paris and Munich last month to study and observe modem museology. Construction work will start in August this year, and the museum is expected to be completed by April, 1975. It is envisioned to become a center of SFP-coordinated programs such as the organization and revitalization of youth science clubs, training of science club advisers, holding of scientific film forums, and training of high school students in science jour nalism and technical writing. The SFP, in cooperation with school and college authorities, will conduct guided tours to give students a chance to see and operate the scien tific and technological exhibits and models in the museum. THE REPUBLIC 31 March 1973 Page 17

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17

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