If you are going to improve on your intelligent quotient, perhaps a visit to the exhibitions “Collider” and “The Nobel Prize: Ideas Changing the World” at ArtScience Museum will give you that jab of inspiration.
The Nobel Prize exhibition started with the man, Alfred Nobel, the origins of the Nobel Prize and then focuses on past Nobel Laureates and their achievements as you walk through the exhibition. There are artifacts and objects including inventions from the prize winners such as the LED light bulb, digital camera, transistor radio and, of course, Alfred Nobel’s very own dynamite.
Of interest to Singapore and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding, there is also a special showcase highlighting the work of Sydney Brenner in Molecular Biology and his immense contribution to establishing Singapore’s bio-medical science Research and Development hub for the South East Asia region.
For the kids, there are activities such as ‘Creating Your Own Nobel Medal’ in which you can submit ideas for the future, and ‘Build Your Own LEGO Universe’, a hands-on workshop that helps participants to understand the fundamentals of particle physics in a fun way.
Read through the will of Alfred Nobel who put aside the monies he earned through his inventions to establish the Nobel Prizes in recognition of contribution by people for the betterment of mankind. Photo © Wilson Wong.
Nobel Laureates Willard Boyle and George Smith are recognised for the invention of the CCD sensor that started Digital Photography. Photo © Wilson Wong.
If you have spare time, visit the Collider exhibit. It showcases the huge CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) facility located between Switzerland and France called the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It is the largest and most sophisticated scientific tool ever built by man; at 27 km long in circumference and 8.6km in diameter, it is big enough to encircle the entire downtown of Singapore.
The 180-degree projection screen brings you right inside the Collider as you witness the collision of two particles. Photo © Wilson Wong.
The LHC accelerates particles extremely close to the speed of light and then observe the outcome of the collision inside the huge detector several stories tall. Out of these experiments, the historic find of the Higgs boson by the facility led to the award of the Nobel Prize to Francois Englert and Peter Higgs from which the Boson is named after.
At first, the topics that these exhibits may overwhelm those who are not particularly interested in sciences, but after going through them, I am keenly aware of how these discoveries and contributions by individuals have left a positive impact on mankind. Without them, this world is a much tougher world to understand and live in. This is a great place to show kids the wonderment of science and their applications.
“Collider” and “The Noble Prize: Ideas Changing the World” are now open to the public at the ArtScience Museum. Admission fee applies for Collider but is free for The Noble Prize exhibit. Both exhibits will be on till early next year 2016.
ArtScience Museum
6 Bayfront Ave
Singapore 018974
