Monday, March 10, 2014

Reaction paper: Mind Museum Lecture

Hayashi, Daiki
STS THX
CAS(UPLB) 2012-98083

Do not limit yourself from learning science

According to the National Achievement Test, Philippine elementary and high schools rank 112 out of 138 countries in the field of science. What is the reason behind this relatively poor academic performance of the Philippines’ primary and secondary education? I have heard a lot of times from Filipinos that the Philippines either have poor or are lacking facilities in order to study science. Also, the poor academic attainment of children can be attributed to the insufficient budget allotted by the government. However, two of the speakers from Mind Museum declared that sophisticated equipment is not necessary to investigate science. One’s curiosity in science can be satisfied even with simplest tools.

               So, they demonstrated a scientific experiment by using simple tools, which are readily available in our households. The first experiment was conducted by using a bill, rubbing alcohol, and a match. When the rubbing alcohol was poured on the bill and was set on fire, it did not get burn. It was explained that rubbing alcohol is not pure alcohol since it contains water that is why the bill did not get burnt. The next experiment was conducted by using rubbing alcohol, a match, and a water container, which is made of plastic. The alcohol was placed inside the container and it was shaken. The rubbing alcohol contained 70% of alcohol but while it has been shaken, only the alcohol vaporized and it was purified inside the container. Right after the fire from the match got inside the bottle, the container shrunk immediately even though it is stiff and cannot be broken by force.

               They also taught me the dance of scientific elements by using our own bodies. Everyone enjoyed learning science in such a way. It did not require us to use any sophisticated tools. What were used in the experiment were only our bodies and very simple tools which we can find at home. I myself never thought of doing scientific experiments by myself because I thought that I can never prepare instruments for a scientific experiment. However, as I remember, I used to conduct scientific experiments when I was a child. I burned piece of paper using a magnifying glass. I also put colored papers under the sun and compared the heat of each of them to understand about reflection of light.

               I am not a science major in college and my passion to study science was going far away. However, the lecture by the Mind Museum has lit up my curiosity back in science and I realized that I should not limit myself from learning science by making excuses that I do not have an environment to study for it because there are actually various ways in order to explore the wonders of science.
              


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