THOUSANDS of visitors filled the Setia SPICE Arena to check out the Penang International Science Fair (PISF) 2019 which kicked off today.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who officiated the event, hoped that it would help to spark the interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) among children as well as their parents.
“This year, we have 10 secondary and six primary schools setting up their own booths to run workshops for the visitors.
“On top of that, this year we also have the largest number of STEM-related hands-on activities for students.
“A total of 25,000 activity slots are prepared for students in order for them to gain practical experience and to have an enjoyable learning experience,” said Chow during his opening speech at fair.
Chow also highlighted the Maker Fest event (part of the fair) which features competitions in robotics, mobile apps, software coding and many others, including the Coolest Project Competition, held for the first time in Asia.
Coolest Projects comprised Visual Programming, Games, Web, Mobile Apps, Hardware, Open Robotics Design Challenge, Lego Robotics, Advanced Robotics, AgriTech competition, Junior Innovate National Level, CPR competition and Pop-Up challenge.
“I would like to congratulate Penang Science Cluster, which in partnership with the state government, industry and community, for successfully organised the eighth edition of the PISF.
“I appreciate the contributions by the pillar companies of Penang Science Cluster, namely B. Braun, Intel, Keysight, Motorola, Agilent, Hewlett Packard, National Instruments, DreamCatcher, Exabytes, Mini-Circuits, ViTrox and also companies like Bosch, AMD, First Solar, QDOS, Smart Modular and valued partner MDEC.
“I also would like to welcome the first-time exhibitors, Boston Scientific, Infineon, Plexus to the PISF,” he added.
Chow said the PISF would indeed be a great platform to educate the next generation and to build a pipeline of world class talents needed for the continued growth of Penang.
“Having this in mind, it is crucial for us to advance the readiness of the local manufacturing industries for the digital age.
“It is also important for us to advance the green economy to raise household incomes as envisaged in the Penang2030 vision,” Chow said.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P. Ramasamy, Penang Science Cluster chief executive officer Ooi Peng Ee and Penang Island City Council mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang.
The PISF, which is organised by Penang Science Cluster, will be held until tomorrow (9am – 6pm) and it is open to all. No registration is required.
It offers plenty of exciting programmes for the public, especially school children.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Nur Afiqah Zainudi
Video by Darwina Mohd Daud