Wazzup Pilipinas!?
More than their tasty silvanas and sweet sansrivals, anyone who sets foot in Dumaguete City can attest to the natives’ good natured behavior, which is felt and proven in their genuine affection and innate fascination for discovering and exploring new types of adventures – be it a science adventure.
Welcomed by warm smiles and kind hearts, the Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute’s (DOST-SEI) nuLab: STEM in motion bus housed the country’s young and passionate Negrenses as they embarked on an exciting quest towards the world of STEM.
“Enjoy kaayo! It was really a new experience ‘cause it’s inside the bus you know,” said Leigh Emanuel Sumaya, one of the Grade 11 students of Dumaguete City National High School (DCNHS) who were invited to experience the nuLab modules, and his statement is proof of the Dumagueteños’ love and appreciation for exciting science adventures.
This nuLab escapade took off as part of the DOST’s 2023 Regional Science and Technology Week (RSTW) celebration in Region VII - Central Visayas, which was held from September 20-23 in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.
Joining the RSTW fun, the Institute’s nuLab bus went on a four-day roadtrip in the city to provide an interactive, state-of-the-art learning experience for senior high school students who were eager to witness and discover for themselves the real world of STEM.
The students were taught modules on science communication, mathematics, and microbiology, paving the way for them to interact with actual scientists and STEM professionals and immersing them to the wide scope and stirring puzzles of science.
The nuLab lecturers brought the students into the future through the modern technologies and facilities provided inside the nuLab bus and back to their childhood as they let them discover and appreciate the beauty and wonder of science through exciting games and interactive science activities. They emphasized the need to promote creativity, playfulness, and self-expression to realize the true meaning of knowledge.
“Continue being fascinated. Patuloy kayong maging bata.” This was one of the remarkable advices of Dr. Joselito Delos Reyes, or Sir Jowi as his students at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) like to call him, when he taught the young Negrenses about the fun in learning science and communicating it to the public. He told students to enjoy science by embracing their inner child and holding on to their curiosity.
His module highlighted lessons on the definition and importance of science communication, as well as the different popularization techniques used by science communicators to make such more intelligible to non-expert publics. In this module, Sir Jowi also gave tips on how to combat smart shaming using science communication techniques.
UST professor Dr. Joselito Delos Reyes joins nuLab for the first time and teaches the students from Negros Oriental a module on science communication.
The young Negrenses also had fun venturing into the world of numbers with a two-hour module on Mathematics facilitated by University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños' young mathematicians Kemuel Quindala III and Jcob Malaguit.
The students enjoyed learning about Bézier curves and plotting them in spreadsheets. They described their fulfillment in accomplishing all the challenging yet enjoyable math activities and their amusement in discovering how such can be applied in digital arts, such as in drawing vector graphics animation and sketching computer-aided designs
Meanwhile, DOST scholar and microbiologist from UP Diliman Ms. Lorraine Joyce del Rosario took the students into a secret world, one that is unknown and is unseen by the naked eye – the world of microbes.
In her module, the students learned about the tiny but mighty microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, microalgae, and protozoa, and discovered how such can be observed using a microscope.
A young Negrense takes her time observing protozoa using a microscope.
The four-day nuLab adventure helped the students explore science in a new and exciting way. It helped them remember the joy of learning by playing some of the old games and doing the same activities that they enjoyed when they were younger.
Keira Sofia Quiambao, a grade 11 student from Saint Louis School of Don Bosco (SLS-DB), testified to this and stressed how nuLab helped bring back her excitement in learning.
“Alam niyo po kasi, this bus is no ordinary bus. It is a vehicle that transports the youth back in time and into a prosperous future. So upon entering the grounds of this bus, I knew that I am already in for an adventure,” said Keira.
Angelique Louise Lim, also a grade 11 student from SLS-DB, seconded this and described how her nuLab experience changed her perspective of learning.
“Actually, before, I was not really good in science. It was one of the subjects that I struggled with. So from this nuLab experience, I learned that science is really fun and that we can learn it in easy ways. And that there are plenty of ways where we can do that,” said Angelique.
The young Negrenses forwarded how the nuLab experience honed their knowledge and improved their ability to critically analyze things. But most importantly, they emphasized how the experience made them realize the vital role that science plays in national and global progress.
“I know that science applies in everything, but with this nuLab experience, [I learned that] it means really everything. Technically, the more I think of it, the more I realize na dako ug role ang science sa pag-improve nitong knowledge ug pag-develop sa ‘tong country,” said Leigh.
The students were also thankful for the chance to explore and be immersed in various careers in science, as well as the different DOST scholarship offerings that they can apply to in the future.
They echoed that nuLab is truly a grassroot for the intellect and the painstaking effort of Filipinos to flourish globally, and that the experience they gained from it motivated them to self-explore on the things that they can and contribute to the development of the country.
“I was inspired by the DOST scholars – the testimonies, the videos wherein they work with NASA, they are summa cum laude in mathematics. They are very inspiring. And, I guess, that would encourage the Filipinos to work hard to be an emblem of the intellect that Filipinos have, which can help to the betterment of our country,” said Isabella Grace Duran, a grade 11 student from Ramon Teves Pastor Memorial – Dumaguete Science High School (RTPM-DSHS), when asked about the most significant and memorable part of her nuLab experience.
DOST VII Regional Director Engr. Jesus F. Zamora thanked the DOST-SEI for their initiative to offer advanced STEM modules and introduce emerging careers in science to senior high school students in their region, through the nuLab project.
DOST Undersecretary Dr. Teodoro Gatchalian also expressed his gratitude to the Institute’s participation in the event and encouraged everyone to visit the nuLab bus.
The 2023 RSTW in Region VII also showcased the SEI's Push4Science campaign, promoting the various Undergraduate S&T Scholarships at the event’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Exhibits under the Science for the Youth [S4Y] Cluster.
DOST scholar-volunteers from Region VII are all smiles as they pose for a photo while promoting the various Undergraduate S&T Scholarships at the RSTW exhibits.
Anchored on the theme "Siyensya, Teknolohiya, at Inobasyon: Kabalikat sa Matatag, Maginhawa, at Panatag na Kinabukasan," the 2023 RSTW highlighted the various S&T interventions for the advancement of the blue economy in the region.
Aside from DOST-SEI's nuLab learning bus, the weeklong celebration also featured talks and seminars related to blue economy development.
Preceding its roadtrip in Dumaguete, the nuLab bus visited Lucban – the art capital of Quezon Province – and served students from six schools in the municipality’s different barangays, immersing them to lecture-module series on chemistry, microbiology, weather science, and mathematics.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
