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Speech by Minister Chan Chun Sing at the 40th Anniversary of the Young Scientist Badge Programme at Hall 1, the Annexe, Science Centre Singapore

Last Updated: 21 Sep 2022

News Speeches

Ladies and gentlemen

Boys and girls

A very good afternoon to all.

1. Very happy to see all of you here today for the 40th anniversary celebration of the Young Scientist Badge Programme.

2. This programme is Science Centre Singapore's longest running initiative. I think many of you in the audience will recall doing some form of activity related to the Young Scientist Badge, be it going to the zoo to identify 10 hoofed animals in the Young Zoologist badge, or making a collection of pressed leaves of different shapes and sizes for the Young Botanist badge.

  1. Many Singaporeans who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s may have kept these badges from their childhood.
  2. For them, these badges are filled with nostalgia, and probably bring back vivid memories of the sense of accomplishment they felt when they fulfilled the requirements for each badge.

3. Since 1982, over one million Young Scientist Badges have been awarded. Why do the Young Scientist Badges have such lasting appeal to our primary school students? I can think of three reasons.

Young Scientist Badges Are Accessible

4. First, most if not all of the Young Scientist Badges are accessible. They provide opportunities for our students to develop their initiative and creativity through hands-on learning, making Science come alive both in and out of the classroom.

  1. The 22 young scientist badges that are currently under the programme introduce science in a very real, relatable and accessible way to our students.
  2. For example, in the Young Geneticist Badge, students are tasked to watch a movie on cloning, and subsequently discuss ethical concerns.

5. In addition, efforts are constantly being made to ensure that the badge activities are accessible to students from different backgrounds.

  1. For example, close to 150 special needs students from APSN Schools and Grace Orchard School have received Young Scientist Badges in 2019, and more than 140 special needs students have received badges in 2020.
  2. I understand that teachers and students from APSN Tanglin School are here today to set up a booth. They have worked on the Young Water Ambassador Badge, and their booth will feature water saving activities, as well as a model of a rain garden that they designed. Well done!
  3. I also understand that Javier Yeo from Rainbow Centre is here with us today. Despite him being quadriplegic, Javier has obtained the Young Astronomer Badge with guidance from his mentor, Jerome, a volunteer at Rainbow Centre. He has even created three episodes of Javier's Magic Handz on the topic of astronomy on YouTube, to share what he has learnt with others. Good job Javier!
  4. We have many young scientists present here today to showcase their projects. I encourage everyone present to visit their booths to see the exciting projects that they have in store for us. And maybe one day, you too will put up a booth at the Science Centre.

Young Scientist Badges Are Fun and Promote Parent-Child Bonding

6. The second reason is that the activities in the Young Scientist Badges are fun and promote parent-child bonding.

  1. Parents have appreciated the opportunities to bond, discover and create together with their children through the activities in the Young Scientist Badge programme.
  2. Take for example Mr Edmond Looi and his daughter Shavonne, who are with us today.
  3. Edmond has shared that working on the badges with Shavonne gave him more bonding time with his daughter. For example, to obtain the Young Energy Saver Badge, they took a trip to a local electronics store, and examined the many electrical appliances on display to find out which brands had the most efficient systems based on the number of ticks found on the energy labels.
  4. In fact, Shavonne has earned 15 out of 22 badges so far at the young age of 10.

7. This highlights the importance of active parent participation in our children's education journey, and I would like to thank all the parents present today for supporting their children in their journey of self-discovery.

Young Scientists Badges Are a Gateway to a Future of Continuous Learning

8. The third reason is that the Young Scientist Badges are a gateway to continuous learning.

  1. Recently at MOE's Schools Work Plan Seminar, I mentioned that it is no longer good enough for students to only know yesterday's answers to yesterday's problems.
  2. Instead, our students will need to frame tomorrow's challenges and find tomorrow's answers. Our students will need to be ready for the unknown, seize new opportunities, and find new solutions ahead of time.
  3. To do that, we will all need to have a growth mindset to adapt to the changing circumstances, and embrace continuous learning.

9. However, there will be many new and unique challenges that lie ahead of us.

  1. For example, how can we as a small city state transcend our energy and carbon challenges in the next 50 years?
  2. How can we continue to develop new and innovative solutions to improve our land use, to create more usable and living spaces for the limited land and sea space that we have?

10. To tackle these existential challenges, STEM education is critical for our younger generation to provide novel and transformative solutions.

11. To hone our students' sensemaking abilities across different fields and domains, the multidisciplinary nature of STEM education will become increasingly more important, as tomorrow's challenges become more complex and multi-dimensional.

  1. Many of our Institutes of Higher Learning have enhanced the common curricula for their students to equip them with core skills and multidisciplinary knowledge. For example, SMU recently announced the formation of the College of Integrative Studies, and this will allow their students to connect their ideas and perspectives to find new and innovative solutions to tackle industry and societal challenges.

Announcement of Launch of New Ysb Badges

12. For these three reasons that I have cited above, we have been able to sustain the strong appeal of the Young Scientist Badge Programme over the past four decades. But we will not stop here. The team behind the Programme is ever committed to make the badges relevant and useful. Therefore, we are pleased today, to announce the launch of three new Young Scientist Badges to continue supporting and building the STEM competencies of our students.

  1. First, the Marie Curie Badge and the Margaret Fountaine Badge. These two badges fall under a new category of badges called the multi-disciplinary badges. Multi-disciplinary badges aim to showcase the interdisciplinary nature of science, and the activities of these badges span across at least three relevant subject areas.
  2. These badges are named after scientists to illustrate that their journeys are multi-disciplinary in nature. Marie Curie is the only person to win the Nobel Prize in two scientific fields: the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911, while Margaret Fountaine was an entomologist and a natural history illustrator.
  3. And the third new badge is the Young Digital Fabricator Badge. This badge highlights the growing importance of digital fabrication and hands-on maker skills in STEM, and it is supported by the Temasek Foundation.

13. I hope that the introduction of these three new badges will continue to nurture and groom our young scientists in the field of STEM to allow them to value-add to tomorrow's challenges with tomorrow's solutions.

YSB Programme collaborates with community partners to nurture interest in STEM

14. Other than our educators and parents, community partners also play a vital role in our children's education.

  1. Various community partners have supported the YSB programme through the development of activities and supporting the cost of the badges.
  2. For example, Singtel and the Infocomm Media Development Authority support the Young IT Whiz Badge, while the Institution of Engineers, Singapore, supports the Young Engineer Badge.
  3. I would like to thank Singtel, IMDA, IES, and the various community partners for journeying with MOE and Science Centre Singapore in nurturing the future of our nation.

Conclusion

15. To conclude, I would like to affirm Science Centre Singapore for the good work that they have been putting into the YSB programme, and many other programmes, to build our younger generation's interest in STEM.

16. I would also like to thank all our educators, parents and community partners once again for continuing to journey with MOE to support the potential of every child.

  1. A whole-of-society involvement in the education of young minds is part of our overall effort to strengthen our social compact in education. We are committed to develop the strengths, skills and abilities of our students from all backgrounds, and enable them to flourish and pursue opportunities along many promising pathways.

17. May our students always remember to stay curious and continue your never-ending quest to advance scientific knowledge for the benefit of humanity and our country. Thank you very much!