MSU-IIT IDS celebrates National Science Club month
by Paolo Miguel C. Cañete
The Science clubbers of Region X once again converged at the MSU-IIT IDS grounds last September 3 and 4, 2016 to celebrate the National Science Club Month (NSCM 2016) with the theme, AGRInnovate: Revolutionizing Agricultural Outlook for Sustainable Growth”. This is one of the 10 regional sites for national camping as stewarded by the Philippine Society of Youth Science Club (PSYSC). The PSYSC is the only national federation of youth science clubs in the Philippines created to promote scientific consciousness among the youth.
In consonance with this year’s theme, guest speaker Mr. Victor Lapoot talked about the importance of the agricultural sector and the current challenges that needed to be addressed for a sustainable future. The said lecture articulated PSYSC aim for the youth to find innovative ways in increasing agricultural productivity and ultimately feeding the growing world population while protecting the environment. The two day and one night event saw the members of different science clubs in Northern Mindanao and nearby provinces coming together to discover and explore the wonders of agriculture via series of lectures, workshops and team-building activities.
Lecture and workshops on Science and Health, subcamp quizbee and PSYSC Science Olympiad (PSO) were held on the first day. PSO aims to challenge the participants through written, practical and theoretical exams in different fields of science such as biology, chemistry, physics, information technology and earth science. In the evening, the pledge and socials night were held. This gave the participants an opportune time to relax, get acquainted and bond with each other.
The second day saw the simultaneous hosting of Mathematics, Science and Kapaligiran (MathSciAka) interactive and Engineering/Science challenge workshops. MathSciAKa aims to promote ways of learning Science, technology, and the environment through fun-filled experiments and workshops. This will test the students’ translation and application of different science concepts.
Closing program and awarding ceremony followed in the afternoon. The MSU-IIT IDS PSO participants – Abdel-Nasher Tanggor, Gregg Dominic Sam Rebollo and Ronald Stephen Galorio won 3 rd Place. The partnership of Rhyll Romerosa and Fraunhofer Sherlock Sajonia topped the MathSciAka Engineering/Science challenge workshop with their efficient and powerful water pump design and fabrication. Similarly the IDS team with members Jannah Amerol, Gezen Giganto, Angeli Manseras, Al-Fisher Coronado, and Camille Guarin notched First place in the MathSciAka Interactive workshop after accumulating the most points from 10 stations of varying mental and physical challenges. These major victories catapulted MSU-IIT IDS as the overall winner for the MathSciAka at the end of the Summit.
The MSU-IIT IDS Science department and its student facilitators and volunteers spent dedicated hours in providing the stage for every activity, ensuring the smooth flow of the different workshops and playing gracious hosts to the many participants and guests. These has thus extended a strong support to NSCM 2016 realization of its thrust to promote science in a fun and interactive manner, foster camaraderie and develop the leadership skills among the participants.