From the 10th to 11th of June, the Science Experiment Club held an Experiment Design Competition with the theme “Magic and Sorcery”. A storyline was provided to give the participants an idea of what was expected of them. It goes like this: “One day, you are transported back to a medieval era. As an outsider, you need to use your knowledge to convince them that you know sorcery.”
A total of 21 students, split into five groups, signed up for the competition. The rules for the competition were simple: participants could search the internet for ideas but were not allowed to copy them; the experiments that participants came up with should contain a sense of mystery but should still be explainable by science.
On the first day, participants were assigned breakout rooms according to their teams. In the breakout rooms, teams made their design sketches with detailed labels on it and also compiled a report containing all of the experiment details, including the thought process behind it and the science involved. This discussion period lasted about three hours.
On the second day, participants presented their reports in front of everyone. After the presentation of each group, the organising committee, judge-teachers and other participants gave out marks using Google Forms. Marks are given based on the experiment’s concept, the logic of science behind it, and the overall quality of presentation.
The results were released on the second day itself. Group 4, with group members Ryan Hoh Wai Chung, Ng Yong Jie and Yip Yik Hang, received the highest score. Their experiment concept was to make a blaster that spits fire and wind. This would fit into the provided storyline as the so-called “fire and wind bender” can control fire and wind as he wishes.
At the end of the day, the committee hoped that everyone had learned something new and that the club would be able to hold another competition like this in the future.
