Malaysia Mental Literacy Movement (MMLM), together with Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair (KLESF), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) and Sin Chew Daily in Kuching Sarawak organised the MIND & STEM Festival on 12 and 13 July 2019 at the school hall of Chung Hua Middle School No.1 Kuching, Sarawak.
Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari delivering his speech at the opening ceremony
The event was graced by Chief Minister of Sarawak YAB Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg. Also present at the event were Minister for Education, Science and Technological Research Sarawak YB Dato Sri Michael Manyin Anak Jawong, Assistant Minister for Education and Technological Research and Assistant Minister for Housing and Public Health YB Dr Haji Annuar bin Rapaee, Mayor of Kuching City South Dato James Chan Khay Syn, UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik, organising committees, school students and public.
Held for two consecutive days, the festival aimed to introduce and promote various techniques and skills pertaining to the improvement of mental literacy among Malaysians. It also provided an excellent opportunity for school students to explore the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in an engaging, exciting and informal environment.
Participants were exposed to a series of fun and exciting activities
From top: Teo, West Wong and Wong Wan Jiun sharing their tips to unlock the power of mind during their talks
A line-up of activities took place at the Festival, including games, exhibitions, mental literacy talks and activities related to STEM and mental literacy. During the festival, the Chairman of Malaysia Memory Sports Organisation (MMSO) Teo Kim Foo, the Grandmaster of Memory Wong Wan Jiun and Malaysian Human Calculator West Wong Woon Chieng were invited to deliver their talks titled “Memory can be enhanced by learning!”, “How to boost your memory for academic learning”, and “Unleash your calculation genius” respectively.
Po (left) testing his memory skills in the Match and Mix game
Po (second from right) trying to come up with an equation that equals to 24 by sorting the numbers and mathematical notation
One of the participants, Po Horng En who is a 16-year-old student from Chung Hua Middle School No. 1 commented that the event activities motivated him and his friends to learn STEM, especially Science. He actively participated in various activities at the festival. He also said that the event offered him a lot of hands-on experience rather than just learning theory in the classroom. Initially, he was not interested in Science subjects such as Biology, Chemistry and Physics, however, through taking part in the science-related activities, he changed his perception that learning science can be fun. The activities also helped to boost his confidence, especially after completing the games successfully which indirectly made him more interested to learn the subjects.
During the STEM Cube Challenge
The event also saw STEM Cube Challenge Kuching 2019 held for the second time in conjunction with the Festival. It was a Rubik’s cube or speedcubing competition which involved solving a variety of twisty puzzles as quickly as possible.
Over the past few years, the Festival was only conducted in Peninsular Malaysia. The Festival was held for the first time in Kuching last year and it received good response and support from schools and the public.
Additionally, Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair (KLESF) 2019 and 15th Malaysia Festival of the Mind (MFotM) 2019 will stage a return this year from 1 to 3 November 2019 at the MINES International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC). There will also be a prize-giving ceremony for the winners of the Mind Competitions 2019 which was held at UTAR Sungai Long Campus on 13 April 2019.
YAB Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari (right) and Prof Chuah (centre) having an exhibition tour
The festival saw participation from the public and school kids with free admission
Organising committees with the winners of STEM Cube Challenge
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