WELCOME

Science Centre Singapore inaugurated the IRON SCIENCE TEACHER (IST) Competition in 2005 as a commemorative activity of the International Year of Physics 2005 and the Centenary of Albert Einstein's Annus Mirabilis, (the year being 1905 in which he published his seminal papers). With the enthusiastic response of past participants, and the continued encouragement by the Ministry of Education, IST 2008 is the fourth running of the event.

The IRON SCIENCE Teacher Competition is based on the very popular, regular programme of the same name, organised throughout the USA and elsewhere. The US competition gets its name from the popular Japanese cooking game show, "The Iron Chef". In the US events, participating teachers compete to give "the most entertaining and informative science lectures" based on a secret ingredient which is only revealed shortly before each contestant's presentation! Past examples of the secret ingredients were: dry ice, candles, ping pong balls, marbles, baking soda, tennis balls, a fruitcake, CDs, etc, ie anything (usually everyday items) can be designated the secret ingredient for a particular session of the competition. Some examples of presentations:

• Secret Ingredient: a ping pong. Use it to demonstrate Bernoulli's principle.
• Secret Ingredient: an A4 sheet of paper. Use it to demonstrate aerodynamic lift.

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OBJECTIVES

Our event aims to find local teachers who

• use their flair and their showmanship to engage their audience, and at the same time,
• produce the most creative, the most compelling Science lessons/demonstrations, and,
• excite the greatest learning and interest in their audience.

Our principal objective is to give teachers the chance

• to try out and share novel and creative teaching ideas and methods with their peers, and,
• to raise interest and enthusiasm for science teaching and learning in fellow teachers and students.

The ultimate aim is to stimulate our students' curiosity, implant scientific concepts, and perhaps inspire them to go on to careers in science. All in fun-filled ways.

Of course, the "sweet" incentive is that the Iron Science Teacher of the Year also goes on an overseas study trip to share and learn from science teachers elsewhere.