MAKING SCIENCE REAL FOR CHILDREN

Science is the study of life and phenomena around us. A natural way to introduce children to life and life processes is to study nature.

Children enjoy exploring the outdoors and a nature walk can combine healthy exercise with nature study. The Penang Botanical Garden offers ample space and specimens for enjoyable exploration.

GREEN GRASS

When walking on soft green grass, invite the children to bend down to look for other plants growing among the grass. The clover with its 3 segment leaves grows freely in the grassy green camouflage. Look carefully for the shy mimosa plant whose leaves shrivel and close when touched or when a child blows a puff of air on its super sensitive leaves. 

Point out the long lalang that stands tall over the short grass that covers the ground. Discuss similarities and differences between varieties of grass. Fasten paper to clip boards and encourage the children to draw different types of grass or plants that grow among grass. Use the smartphone camera to photograph grassy plants and create a digital nature scrapbook.

Children can also learn to be more observant by playing "Let's see how many different shaped leaves we can find!" Sauntering through the Herb Garden will introduce them to leaves, bark and roots that possess culinary and medicinal properties.

TREMENDOUS TREES

Create deeper awareness of trees by observing tree bark and making charcoal rubbings of bark from different trees. Collect fresh leaves, dried leaves, flowers and seeds from different trees to make scrapbooks. Digital scrapbooks can be made from photographs of different parts of trees. Internet research will provide information about each type of tree which can be added to the scrapbook.

A very interesting long-term tree project would be taking photographs of the same tree every month to track the changes in tree growth over one year.

Draw children's attention to coconut trees and angsana or other leafy trees. Point out similarities - both have trunks and leaves. Observe the differences - a tree trunk with branches vs a trunk without branches. What is different about the way the leaves attach to the trees? Compare the size, shape and texture of the leaves. Look at flowers and focus on the shape, fragrance and colour of the flowers, then compare similarities and differences.

WONDERFUL WOOD

Extension activities that promote use of thinking skills can focus on how humans use trees. Start with a fun 'I Spy Wood' hunt at home to identify objects made of wood.

Show pictures or watch YouTube videos of to see how trees are felled and tree trunks sawn to make houses (e.g. traditional kampung houses), furniture, and bridges. We can burn wood to cook food or to scare animals away. We eat delicious fruit grown on trees. We play with wooden toys and games - e.g. Russian Babushka dolls that nest inside each other, mancala or congkak, wooden puzzles, wooden train sets, ping pong (table and bat) and wooden chess sets.

PLASTIC PLAGUE

This can lead to a discussion about the properties of wood and a comparison to the properties of plastic. Seemingly indestructible plastic has invaded the oceans, killing sea creatures and creating a huge patch of floating plastic garbage in the Pacific Ocean. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle can be the next topic of study when the family uses recyclable bags to pack groceries at the supermarket.  

June 2018