Prepared by: Dr. Ili Syazana Johari

SERDANG, August 17 – The Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has successfully organized the Lil' Scientist@SCi-TIZEN 4.0 Program, which involved 52 participants from schools around the Sepang and Petaling districts in Selangor. This program, now in its fourth year, included participants aged between 8 and 14 years old.

The program director, Dr. Ili Syazana Johari, stated that the main objective of the program is to provide participants with the opportunity to explore scientific knowledge through engaging activities and experiments. It is hoped that this will increase children's interest in studying science in school and change the negative perception of the subject among students.

She further explained that the challenges faced by educators today are greater due to numerous external influences that divert children's focus from learning, especially in science, which has historically been considered a difficult subject. Therefore, the Department of Chemistry at UPM plays a role in opening the minds of today's generation, particularly the Alpha Generation who are still in school, by providing opportunities to explore the field in a fun way.

The program, held for a full day at the Faculty of Science UPM, provided a platform for participants to conduct experiments based on four main themes: Science around you, Self-care & Beauty, Care 4 the Planet, and From Ground to the Sky. Various science experiments and Do It Yourself (DIY) activities were prepared according to these themes. Participants could then take home their homemade products as souvenirs. Among these products were candles, soap, lip balm, water rockets, and more.

Feedback from participants indicated that they learned valuable new knowledge while enjoying the engaging experiments. They expressed hope that similar programs could be organized again in the future.

The participants took a commemorative photo with the facilitators and program secretariat after the event concluded.

The participants are ready to launch the water rockets they each created.

The participants are focused on conducting their own experiments with electrical circuits using fruits and vegetables.

The DIY candle experiment using recycled oil was one of the activities that particularly captivated the participants.

The DIY aromatic soap experiment was among the exciting activities for the program participants.

Participants had the opportunity to perform all the experiments provided on their own.

Date of Input: 09/09/2024 | Updated: 09/09/2024 | hidayahsaleh