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Science leaves kids wide-eyed

Nuha Safar, head of the Knowledge Surprises Organising Committee, said a host of practical and interactive science and chemistry experiments had been planned for all the children and adults visiting the mall until Wednesday, with a view to making learning fun and providing practical and educational entertainment.

On the second floor of the mall, she said, DCCI has created a number of specialised workshops and performances to help kids unravel the secrets of science in an exciting manner. There is also a laboratory session where kids can play and have fun, and understand basic science concepts.

A six-member-team of young adults who have come to Dubai especially for the week are leading the workshops and performances. Every segment begins with a musical presentation of the numbers, alphabets and organic table, which the kids are made to repeat accompanied by clapping and singing.

There is also a Eureka! Adventure mini-story, where some presenters are cast as trees, flowers and doctors, and the children explore the environment to learn the names of the plants and trees and their usefulness for the world and its people. In doing so, Safar added, children would learn the importance of protecting the natural environment and how to do so.

There are a number of other interesting workshops guaranteed to pique the curiosity of little ones: the Invisible Ink workshop, for example, teaches them how to write with invisible ink and then reveal it; The Echo Phone workshop focuses on how sound is transferred and the properties of sound and how a phone works; the Mirror and Optics laboratory shows how mirrors and other reflective surfaces can be used to improve everyday life and how optics work.

“We wanted to provide fun activities that would at the same time help them in school,” said Safar. “These are the same subjects they would study in school, but the presentation is more fun and memorable.”

There is also a Mini Chemistry Laboratory; a Flying Disk workshop that focuses on the properties of air, the balance of the elements in air and how air can be channelled and used to move objects and achieve speed and such things as airplane take-offs and landings; a Compass and Directions workshop; and an Electrical Lamp workshop that shows how the eye perceives colour, the differences in colours and so on.

The BurJuman Centre will be hosting these 13 science-themed workshops and activities from 5.00pm to 10.00pm every day until Sunday. All adults and children wishing to boost their understanding of the scientific world are welcome to participate. There is also a Charity Tent on the site from 10.00am to 10.00pm daily.

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