Overview of the trip

How the trip all started

On a certain Chemistry lecture a few weeks back, we were greeted with news that there was an upcoming trip to the National Science Centre by Ms. Choong, our Chemistry lecturer. We were all pretty much excited at the prospect of skipping classes for one day to visit the Centre but we were slightly disappointed by the fact that we were going there because most of us perceive the Centre as a place for children to develop their love for science and not for us, college students to learn anything at all. But who cares? It's one day off for a visit to the National Science Centre!!!

Pre-trip preparation
Before we could actually go to the Centre, we had to prepare transportation and logistic issues before we could make our visit. Thankfully, our kind Chemistry lecturer Ms. Choong has arranged a large portion of the procedure and only needed us to confirmed our attendance and pay a relatively cheap entry fee of RM5 for the Centre. Transportation was free of charge thanks to the good will of the Principle, Datuk Tan who approved of our trip to the Centre. All we had to do now was to arrange our group mates and be prepared for the trip on the 18th of December 2014.

The Day of the Trip

Me and my course mates reached the National Science Centre about 9 a.m. where we were greeted by school children of various primary schools that happen to visit at the same time as us. The National Science Centre is truly a popular spot to encourage young children to build up interest in the field of science. However, to us college students, we were tied down with this mentality that the National Science Centre is a place for young children and not for young adults like us who were about to finish our A-level course in half a year and step forward to university education where competition is ruthless for the sake of our education and to secure a brighter future to improve our quality of life. To us this trip probably more relaxing than mind breaking and wouldn’t affect us in every aspect. How wrong I was to assume so as we reached the entrance and was immediately fascinated by the sight of the touch pool and the beautiful built in aquarium for fishes of all kinds.

Could be my dinner tonight XD

Not only that, straight after the aquariums was where the interest in science really bloomed for most of us. Contraptions and devices that showcased science knowledge discovered by various researchers and scientist in the past were simplified in the way that even primary students could understand (but they were very engrossed in playing with the devices) and absorb this knowledge for their own benefit. Truth to be told, we were also pretty much engrossed in playing with the devices like the primary school kids but we were also curious in how these devices function and so began to try to understand the concept behind those devices.

Showing off his non-existent biceps XD (Pumping water device to sink items on the surface) 

A jolly pumper ( That's me alright)

Look! A tornado making device!!!! (Inner childhood explodes)

Posing with the air pressure maze

Who says you can't play games with (air) pressure?(No pun intended)

Working against gravity

For example, there was a fluorescent lamp that would light up when there is contact with a plate of static and produce pattern on the plate. It was a really pretty sight in my opinion.

ZAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!

 Posing with liquid balls

The Clone Room

Last but not least, after visiting the exhibition in the main hall, we were directed to enter the Whodunit?  Forensic Science exhibition designed by SCITECH. This exhibition is only available for a limited time only and we were lucky enough to visit it before the exhibition ended. The main attraction of this exhibition was to uncover the murderer of Arthur Locke, the security guard in a zoo and also the kidnapping of a baby rhino. Through the power of forensic science which encompasses the three branches of science namely Biology, Chemistry and Physics, we were encouraged to use different techniques in forensic science to uncover the suspects in the case.

Swag Crime File

Pretty legitimate investigation huh?

Through many different techniques used such as ink chromatography in the Take Note station or through ballistic tracing in the Going Ballistic to identify which firearm fired the bullet that pierced through Arthur Locke as well as careful observation with my partners Nigel, Benny, Shiven and Daylon, we managed to uncover the killer and kidnapper of the baby rhino which were Dorothy Grabbit and Martin Dagg and we were rewarded with a token of appreciation which was a really nice pin badge.

Really Nice Pin Badge :-)

The trip in a nutshell ended with a happy note for most of us (except for some of our wallets which was noticeably lighter due to souvenirs and lunch) and we arrived back at college at about 3pm-ish.

Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything. -Muhammad Ali