s
le
a
T Young
LAST WORD
MDM LAI
– Florence’s Mother
How did the programme
help to bring you closer
to Florence?
The Abbott Young Scientist
programme has brought both
By Florence Oh, Mdm Lai and Jackson Ng
from
a
Scientist
The world needs more FLORENCE OH
female scientists and – Young Scientist
student
Florence is leading the I’m Florence, a Primary FourSchool.
from Bukit Panjang Primary
charge, thanks to the
Abbott Young Scientist For my Abbott Young Scientist
Programme. She pens her programme project, I wanted to
experiences for us, with a observe live insects and find out more
about their characteristics such as their
bit of help from her parents feeding habits and natural habitats.
and mentor. After reviewing a few options and
discussing with my mentor, Jackson
Ng, I decided to observe caterpillars because I can easily find different types of
caterpillars in the garden and they are not poisonous. I wanted to explore how
they live and the food they eat. When I first entered the leaf litter in the garden at
Science Centre, I remember I was quite scared to dig around for insects.
Nevertheless, we went around trying to catch different types of caterpillars for
investigation. I caught tiger and lime caterpillars!
My mentor suggested a box to keep the caterpillars and we can introduce
different conditions to investigate my theories. I wanted to investigate the ideal
conditions of the habitat and feeding habits of the caterpillars. For example,
do caterpillars prefer darker places or areas with more sunlight? What kind
of leaves do caterpillars feed on? I put four different types of strong smelling
leaves in four corners of the box and covered half of the box with dark paper to
block out the light.
I came up with the design of the box and I drew pictures and made models of
different insects to be put on the box. My mentor suggested putting LEDs in the
model eyes to make it more attractive.
My mentor also suggested placing a bedding of sand and leaves for the
caterpillars to walk around as the hard surface of the box might damage the
legs of the caterpillars.
We discussed creating a poster and a game
for visitors. I did research for the design and
drew the pictures needed. We also discussed
creating a science journal to keep track of the
information that I researched and the daily
activities that I have done for my project. I
wrote down my information and my mentor
helped me to check and asked me to add in or
change any information.
My father helped me build a wooden box to
house the caterpillars and my mother helped
me to decorate it.
After this project, I have learned more about
insects, and have more courage to touch and
feel insects, especially caterpillars.
30
Family & Life • Sep 2014
the family closer. We will discuss
about her projects as a family.
Whenever she had questions or
faced challenges with her projects,
we will improvise and come up with
a solution together. I ha fR