The Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) in partnership with the CSI Group of Companies will be holding the 2011 World Space Week at the CSI Stadia, Dagupan City in October 4-6, 2011.
Aptly themed “50 Years of Human Space Exploration,” this year’s World Space Week celebration takes a different look as it brings the international celebration closer to the regions.
DOST-SEI Director Dr. Filma G. Brawner said the regional look for the 2011 World Space Week Celebration is the agency’s initiative to give students and teachers from the regions the experience of being greatly involved in international competitions.
“We thank the Dagupan City Vice Mayor and CSI Group of Companies CEO Belen Fernandez for giving the DOST-SEI the opportunity to serve the students and teachers of DAgupan and the nearby regions by bringing them a one of a kind science experience,” she said.
The 2011 World Space Week celebration coincides with Dagupan City’s Children’s Congress where an expected 14,000 throng of students, elementary and high school, will be trooping to CSI Stadia, the largest and most modern event facility in Northern Luzon.
An action packed week awaits students and teachers attending the 2011 World Space Week with fora, competitions and a robotic exhibition will be held.
A forum for students entitled “Space Exploration and the Human Race” will be held on October 4 with the opening of the robotics and astronomy exhibition at the CSI Grand Lobby.
Teachers will be given a seminar on how to teach robotics to high school students on October 5 as high school students will be given a training-workshop on water rocket design. The On-the-Spot Poster Making Contest will also be held on October 5.
The National Water Rocket Launching Competition is going to be held on October 6 with the awarding of the winners of the competition and the poster making contest in the afternoon.
Winners of the National Water Rocket Competition and the Poster-Making Contest will be competing at the Asia-Pacifc Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) to be held in Singapore while the On the Spot Poster Making Contest winner’s entry will also be sent to the APRSAF for judging .
Brawner said DOST-SEI conducts annually the World Space Week celebration to bring awareness among students and teachers the importance of space education and its impact to their daily lives and in response to the declaration of the United Nations General Assembly to celebrate World Space Week every year from 4 to 10 October.
“The youth’s fascination with the mysteries of space and space technology are perfect handles to spark their interest in the various S&T disciplines. We hope that through the World Space Week celebration, we would be able to entice our students to pursue careers in science. The world beyond us is very vast and there is so much more to explore,” she said. Beth Padilla, STII-DOST
