Exhibition lays stress on importance of science

"The concern over alternative sources of energy, pollution, climate change and the environment in general, as well as the need to improve transportation, telecommunications, operating and information dissemination processes are but some aspects that solicit the need for a sound science based society... Within this context alone, we immediately realise the importance of providing our students with a sound scientific base," said Francis Stivala, NSTF secretary general.

The National Student Travel Foundation is this week organising a science exhibition at St James Cavalier in Valletta. Science Week is organised annually to showcase the students' creative works, experiments, researched findings and original projects with the aim of enticing students and the public to find out more about science and the way it affects our daily lives in a fun and informative manner.

This year, over 40 projects are being exhibited by the following students from St Augustine's College, Lily of the Valley, the Bishop's Conservatory School in Gozo, the Liceo Mikiel Anton Vassalli, Carlo Diacono Secondary School in Zejtun, the Archbishop's Seminary in Tal-Virtù, De La Salle College, St Aloysius' College, Junior College, and MCAST's Institute of Business and Commerce.

Around 5,000 children are expected to visit the exhibition which is the most important of NSTF's Science Programmes. Students at post-secondary and tertiary level institutions create workshops and animate the event with hands-on experiments while science-related companies set up educational stands.

Mr Stivala said that NSTF keeps itself informed on informal education trends overseas to encourage Maltese students to be abreast with developments that will eventually affect their careers.

"While NSTF has been promoting the informal learning of science for over 20 years, more recent thinking over the last eight years brought about an acceleration of this process and an expansion into the NSTF Science Week." He said: "If we look at the European Union we find that it is building an economy on knowledge and the production of goods and services based on science and technology. Moreover, only this week, the government formally signed the agreement on SmartCity@Malta which is due to employ some 5,600 scientifically and technologically highly skilled persons over the span of the coming 10 years. Malta is simultaneously attracting top pharmaceutical companies who again require scientifically skilled persons."

He also pointed out that NSTF does not replace the scholastic and academic input.  

"NSTF presents opportunities for students to experiment with science, to research and get themselves involved in the excitement and fun that discoveries present to the inventor, to kindle in them a love and care for science so that they design a better world to live in with full respect to the environment."

When visiting the exhibition, Education Minister Louis Galea said that students should realise that science and technology are going to be the subjects that will be needed in the workplace in a few years' time. He urged parents to encourage their children to take up these subjects "and to help them understand that there is no such thing as an easy subject and a difficult one, but that each subject needs a lot of work and dedication to excel in."

Science week is open till Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.