Mobile laboratory launched to boost science awareness<\/p>\n
P.C. Naommy, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has launched the country's first mobile science
\nlaboratory on Thursday, in conjunction with the opening of the
\nsecond Indonesian Science Festival, to raise the level of
\nscientific learning.<\/p>\n
The prototype was designed in a 2002 interdisciplinary project
\ninvolving faculty and students of the Bandung Institute of
\nTechnology (ITB). The lab was completed the following year at a
\nproduction cost of about Rp 600 million (US$64,516), with a
\nmaximum capacity of 40 students.<\/p>\n
Data from the Ministry of National Education shows that about
\none-third of the 8,558 state high schools across Indonesia do not
\nhave laboratory facilities for conducting science experiments,
\nespecially those schools in remote areas.<\/p>\n
Maria Widiani, an official at the ministry's Directorate
\nGeneral of Public Intermediate Education, said the figure does
\nnot include Islamic high schools and other institutes with poor
\nlab facilities.<\/p>\n
\"We currently have only one prototype mobile laboratory. We
\nhope that with this road show, all municipalities will be
\nencouraged to provide at least one mobile lab to serve schools
\nthat can't afford expensive laboratory equipment,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Director General of Elementary and Intermediate Education
\nIndra Djati Sidi said of the 400 municipalities in the country,
\nabout 200 were located in remote rural areas.<\/p>\n
\"We have yet to set our production target, but at least 25
\npercent of the municipalities in rural areas should have this
\nfacility,\" said Indra.<\/p>\n
Indra added that instead of instructing municipal
\nadministrations to buy the mobile lab, the road show would
\nexplain the direct benefits of the facility. The road show will
\nalso include teachers training workshops and school visits.<\/p>\n
The festival's head of education, Handikin, said the mobile
\nlab had visited Subang and Indramayu in West Java for up to six
\nweeks in 2003.<\/p>\n
\"We allocated the first two days of our road show in Subang
\nand Indramayu toward holding training sessions for teachers, and
\nwe used the rest of the time to visit schools, at least a week
\nfor every school,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The science festival will run for the next three months. It
\nwas initiated with an aim to bring science closer to students
\nthrough combining education and entertainment, or edutainment,
\nexplaining how science affects our daily lives.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of students from the elementary to high school levels
\nwill participate in several competitions during the festival,
\nincluding the three-day National Astronomy Olympiad competition,
\nwhich begins in Jakarta and Bandung on June 24 and is to involve
\n62 students from junior high and high schools.<\/p>\n
A six-day competition, the Indonesian School Debate
\nChampionship 2004, in which 102 high school students are to
\ncompete, also starts on June 24 in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the National Science Olympiad, to be held in August
\nin Pekanbaru, Riau, will involve hundreds of primary and
\nsecondary school students from all over Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The festival will close on Sept. 22.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mobile-laboratory-launched-to-boost-science-awareness-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }