I introduced myself a month ago and
talked about working to bring science to JWOC, but I wanted to post again to
tell about my favorite experience so far in Cambodia! Last week I had the
opportunity to represent JWOC at the 2nd Cambodian Science and
Engineering Festival, where our goal was to showcase JWOC’s science program and
inspire visitors about the possibilities afforded by science, technology,
engineering, and math (more commonly known as STEM). We prepared six exhibits;
each covering a different topic. We wanted our exhibits, covering everything
from electricity to biology to chemistry, to teach something new while allowing
students to get hands on.Aside from me the team consisted of Nesa and Vantha,
two JWOC staff members, and Phally and Thoeu, two JWOC scholarship students.
Each did an incredible job all week explaining in Khmer to students about our
demonstrations!
The first day of our trip we took the long six hour drive to
Phnom Penh, got our booth ready, and went to bed early, ready for a busy week. Our
goal on the first day was to teach two things: first, the reasons for the
differences between plant and animal cells and second, how plants drink using
capillary action. To teach the first we had students look through two
microscopes showing plant and animal cells and think about the benefits a cell
wall offers plants. For the second, we had students guess and discuss why
cabbage is stained different colors when left in colored water.We weren’t exactly
sure what to expect, but we hoped kids would enjoy our demonstrations. Luckily,
immediately after the doors opened (and constantly for the next three days), we
had a circle of students surrounding our booth! It was clear just from the
looks on their faces that kids were enjoying learning in a hands-on manner.
Throughout our time at the fair, that didn’t change. We
alternated exhibits, showing something slightly different each day, but no
matter what we had on display we never seemed to run out of smiling and
laughing kids as they played with the exhibits and talked to us. Probably the
most popular exhibit was Oobleck (look it up!), a non-newtonian fluid that is
either a liquid or a solid, depending on whether you apply pressure to it. The
last two days we had bowls of Oobleck out for students to play with while
investigating the material’sproperties, and they could not get enough of it. It
was a bit messy, but it was worth it to see the surprised and curious faces as
students tried to figure out why the Oobleck flowed like a liquid, but turned
into a solid ball when squeezed. I don’t know who had more fun, the kids or us
at the booth, trying to explain it! By the end of the third day, we were
exhausted from having spent three full days at the fair, but thoroughly happy
that we were able to be involved.
Stepping back a bit, I want to talk about why the science
fair was so meaningful for me.The slogan for the science fair states that “Cambodia
runs on science. Let’s make that science Cambodian!”I think that’s such an important
goal to pursue. There’s so much promise amongst the Cambodian youth to make an
impact on both their own country and the world as a whole, but in order for that
promise to materialize students need to realize the opportunities that are
available.
At the fair, students could learn about robots, bugs, 3D
printers, physical therapy, and so much more. Over the course of the fair,
nearly 20,000 students had the opportunity to be inspired by ways they can
improve the world with various STEM disciplines; just as importantly, they learned
that science and engineering can be fun. I love that I had the opportunity to
help inspire thousands of students, and I know that because of events like the
science fair Cambodia is becoming a better place. Without a doubt, being able
to be part of that impact makes my time at the science fair the most rewarding
thing I’ve done in Cambodia.
