The principles and concepts in Science are like the varied and amazing tools in a magical toolbox to me. Just like the tools in a toolbox, there are many interesting and fascinating facts in Science.

But, the responses we get when we hand a child a toolbox to play and when we give the child a book to learn about Science are worlds apart.

The child will explore the toolbox and its contents with glee, making an effort to find out how to use the different tools.

As for the book, few children will really sit still and read the book with interest!

Why are the responses so different then? How can we create the experience of learning science similar to that of playing with a toolbox?

In the toolbox case, the child undergoes experiential learning: he/she learns from exploring, he tries and experience, observes and make inferences. Through this mode of learning, the child remembers and will learn the purpose of each tool and how to use them next time.

In the science learning case, it is very dry and boring to learn science by reading. Many concepts and principles in science are best learnt and remembered through hands-on activities and experiments.

To cultivate an interest in the learning of science, the Educator should make the “Science” come alive; Let the child see how deeply science is intertwined in their daily lives:

Example 1: why do you need to breath and eat? (This will explain the principle of respiration)

Example 2: why do plants die when they do not have sunlight and water? (Simple experiments can be done to show the wilting of plants when one of the factors is removed)

The Educator plays a vital to ignite and continuous fuel this passion in the child by:

• Breaking down complex concepts into simpler, bit size pieces for the child to understand
• Show how concepts taught are used in real world science applications
• Provide a platform for the child to explore, experiment, observe and internalise the learnings
• Encourage the child to explore

Once the child gains mastery of each tool (science concept), he/she will know which tool to take from the magical toolbox (Science) to use when given a problem to solve.