The School of Natural & Physical Sciences (SNPS) at the University of Papua New Guinea hosted its’ Science Fair on Wednesday at the Main Lecture Theatre and the Science Blocks.
With the theme ‘Promoting Sustainable Solutions Through Scientific Research & Innovations’, the seven strands in the Science Field set up information booths displaying projects, conducting experiments and showing results of their research for those who attended.
SNPS SRC representative, Miss Ryna Asiba said the Science fair is an important event to be held because it shows that Papua New Guineans are capable of coming up with ground breaking inventions and innovations that will not only benefit Papua New Guinea but also the rest of the world.
“The Science Fair showcases our modern scientific knowledge combined together with our native traditional knowledge and how we can incorporate them into our daily lives to make it better healthier and wealthier,” Miss Asiba said.
Miss Asiba added that the fair educates the general public about the applications of science through innovative ideas that can benefit Papua New Guinea and most importantly markets the SNPS and its’ young and bright vibrant scientists to the outside communities, sponsors and potential employers.
“I see that science in our country is not as big as it is in other countries and it is one course that is looked down on so we wanted to showcase modern scientific knowledge with traditional knowledge.”
“If you combine the two, you will see how it will benefit our lives on a daily basis,” Ryna said.
To air out confusions, Ms Asiba added that when people hear about the ‘UPNG Science Foundation Year’, they automatically think of Medical School but there is more to science than just medical school.
“We have Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Geology, Environmental Science & Sustainable Development and the Mathematics Statistics & Computing Science”, added Ryna.
The Science Fair also took on a competition in which each strand within the School of Natural and Physical Science were tasked to come up with projects and ideas to compete with each other to win a shield and cash prize money.