Learning
Putting the fun in science
Interest in science and technology should come naturally to Sabah
By Nurhafizah Yusof
Pictures by Victor Lo
As Petronas, the national oil company, gets set to roll out 45 billion ringgit ($14.3) of oil and gas projects in Sabah this year, interest in science and mathematics should come naturally to learners. Not so. Teachers say most of their pupils shy away from these subjects because they think they are boring. But the Petrosains Playsmart Centre is proving them wrong: Science is fun and mathematics doesn’t have to be complicated.
Since it opened its doors mid last month, the 279-square-metre (3,000-square-foot) centre in the Sabah State Library in Kota Kinabalu has been visited by about 4,000 enthusiastic pupils all wanting to put their hands on about 70 interactive science and maths models to learn how things come about and how they work. It is the third centre in the country. The others are in Johor Bahru in Johor and Kuantan in Pahang.
“This shows that Sabahans, particularly the very young, have great interest in science and technology,” says Mohammad Medan Abdullah, Petronas’ senior general manager for corporate affairs.
The centre was officially opened by assistant minister Datu Nasrun Datu Mansor who represented his chief minister Musa Aman.
Musa says the centre will encourage young people to become technocrats. “Mastering science and technology is important for us to stay competitive,” he says.
In fact Sabah doesn’t lack science talents. Giroon Ijod and Jevenney Wenson, both 16-year-old pupils of the rural Tandek secondary school in Kota Marudu won third place in last year’s national Petrosains science contest.
Admission to the Petrosains Playsmart centre is free. It opens from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. – Insight Sabah
Posted on January 16, 2012
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Science & technology, Petronas, Petrosains, Musa Aman, Sabah, Oil & gas
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