NATIONAL EDUCATION THROUGH LEGO CONTEST
PHOTO // Courtesy of LEGO Singapore
In a nationwide competition where students were challenged to build a vision of Singapore in 2050 - based on the contest theme Knowing our past, building our Future - using LEGO elements, a team from Elias Park Primary School took the top honours on 3 Jun at the Singapore Discovery Centre.
Director Nexus Colonel (COL) Kelvin Koh, presented the prizes to the winning teams of LEGO Build-the-Change (BTC), which was launched for the first time in Singapore. The competition is a collaboration among LEGO Education, the education solutions arm of LEGO Group, the Ministry of Education's National Education Branch and the Singapore Discovery Centre.
Teachers were not left out too, as Hwa Chong Institution teacher Lock Wan Jun bagged the overall prize in another competition - the LEGO Smart contest. The challenge given to teachers was to create a lesson plan - using a specially-designed LEGO kit consisting of 20 elements - which infused at least one National Education message.
During his informal address to the students and teachers, COL Koh touched on a broad range of topics related to National Education. In a speech peppered with anecdotes of his experience as a Singaporean, he called on the students to appreciate the nation's past and to be involved and innovative as they collaborate and cooperate to build a better future as the next generation of Singaporeans.
The BTC contest was conducted in two phases. The first phase saw students submitting their designs on official LEGO postcards.
Ten shortlisted entries from each of the five age-categories were then selected to participate in phase two of the contest, which saw 50 teams building their vision of Singapore at the discovery centre. During the event, each team was given a set of LEGO building materials and a floor space of no more than 25cm by 50cm. Using only the supplied materials, the teams then had to design and build their postcard designs in less than three hours.
For their efforts, the overall winners of both contests won trips to the LEGO headquarters in Denmark, as well as special LEGO products and vouchers for their schools. Winners from each of the five age-categories were also announced on the same day, as well as four commendation prizes for the LEGO Smart contest.
