TELLING A S'PORE STORY THROUGH AMAZING MACHINES

Had inventor Rube Goldberg been around, he would have certainly been proud of the sight at the Singapore Amazing Machine Challenge (SAMC) on 28 Aug. Held at the Singapore Science Centre, the competition pitted more than 200 students in 58 teams against one another. They were given a simple objective: to tell a Singapore story by constructing a machine, but there was a twist - it had to be done in as many steps as possible.

The teams had spent months conceptualising and testing their machines, and were given one day (28 Aug) to construct them from scratch. The judging and awards presentation took place on 29 Aug, with Second Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing as Guest of Honour.

The SAMC is part of the DSO National Laboratories' "Amazing" series of competitions, an outreach programme to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics among young Singaporeans across primary to tertiary levels.

This year's edition of the SAMC, which was the sixth time that it has been organised, was divided into three categories. Contestants could either design their machines to unscrew the lid of a jar in category A; unscrew and remove the lid of a jar in category B; or unscrew and remove the lid of a jar, then fill up the entire jar with marbles in category C.

In her welcome address, Mrs Chew Wai Lee, Vice-Principal of Singapore's School of Science and Technology, said: "In the design and construction process for their (the participants') amazing machines, they would have tapped on knowledge and concepts from different subject disciplines and explored various creative solutions.

"This is applied learning at its best."

Mr Chan agreed, adding: "(The rationale behind the competition is) to know how well you (the students) have learnt, and how well you are able to cross-fertilise the ideas."

The winning team of category C was team #opensesame from Nanyang Girls' High School. The members were Andrea Chong, Pan Xin-Min, Li Huiying, and Tan Wan Yun, all aged 16.

They had chosen a unique aspect of Singapore to represent in their machine - Recycling. It was constructed from recycled materials, symbolising Singapore as a clean and green nation.

The girls faced many challenges over the course of the competition, such as when the complexities of their machine led frequently to breakdowns or malfunctions.

"We faced difficulties in our design because the (various steps the machine had to perform) wouldn't transition smoothly. The machine was also not entirely reliable and flaws would emerge every now and then, forcing us to troubleshoot," said Andrea.

However, that was what led to their largest takeaway. Huiying added: "We've been working on this machine for a few months, and there have been a lot of disappointing moments and failures, but through that we learnt not to give up."

Apart from team #opensesame, other prize winners include team Graciousness A from Zhangde Primary School, who clinched category A; and team ACSI4 from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), winners of category B.