SERDANG, May 21 - Due to the success of the promising Superhero Magic Jr programme, the upgraded Superhero Magic Junior 2.0 version has continued to provide an advantage to children aged 6 to 10 from around the country who participated in the programme this year.
The programme was held in conjunction with the Keluarga Malaysia National Science Week 2022, which was organised by the Magic Physics Team from the Physics Student Club (KMF), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), in collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Department of Chemistry Malaysia (KIMIA Malaysia), UPM STEM and UPM MySTEM Ambassador Club.
Project leader, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yap Wing Fen, said the interactive workshop was based on scientific knowledge and expertise sharing in a more creative and exciting magical approach and labelled 'magic' to attract participants to participate in science-related programmes.
"Creative programmes are needed to foster interest in science since childhood, and the direct involvement of parents also plays a role in giving them ideas for conducting scientific activities with children at home using easy-to-find home tools," he said.
He added that the workshop had received encouraging responses from parents and active involvement of the participants.
"The programme was conducted in a hybrid manner where the magicians were in the conference room at UPM while the participants were joining from the comfort of their homes through the Zoom Meeting platform, and the programme objective was achieved although it was conducted via a hybrid manner,” he said.
Programme Director, Muhamad Zamri Muhammad Zulkarnai, said he was grateful for the opportunity given to ensure the success of this second hybrid volunteer programme.
"This hybrid workshop can provide early exposure to children between the ages of six and 10 to be interested in science and thus making the learning of science more attractive as well as enabling the conducting of scientific experiments at home using easy-to-find materials," he said.
He added that today's endemic situation enhanced the completeness of the programme by enabling the organisation of this hybrid programme in conjunction with the Keluarga Malaysia National Science Week 2022.
The programme facilitators included Muhamad Zamri, Muhammad Zulkarnai, Faiz Iqbal, Muhammad Fauzi, Muhammad Nazreen, Amir Zakwan, Zaki Ayman, Muhammad Danial, Mohamad Khusyairi, Muhammad Hakimi, Muhammad Aizzat and Danial Damanhuri who are members of the ‘Team Magic Physics UPM’.
A mother of two participants, Nur Mahfuzah Ahmad Tajuddin, said such workshops were beneficial to attract her children’s – Muhammad Faris Haikal Muhammad Firdaus and Muhammad Firas Hafiy Muhammad Firdaus – interest in science.
"Programmes such as these are essential for my children to enhance their knowledge in science while having fun at the same time with very fascinating and impressive presentations and experiments," she said. - UPM
