Yao Hong

Pre-Trip Reflections @Changi Airport:

1.   How do you feel about the upcoming trip?

Very excited to visit the observatories and especially the TECH DOME.

2.   3 Things that I am looking forward to

   - Dr Choon’s homemade observatory

   - TECH DOME

   - School visit

3.   3 things I hope to learn from Penang

   - Star gazing

   - Hands on kinematics

   - How to read stars and constellations in the sky

4.   3 things I hope to learn from my friends

    - Teamwork

    - How to be a better roommate

    - How to improve my character and personality.

5.   3 things I hope to learn about myself

    - How I interact with new people.

    - How I treat my room mate.

    - How I become more independent.

6.   3 challenges I give myself

    - Step out of comfort zone to make new friends.

    - Be as much of help to everyone as much as possible.

    - Solve difficulties by thinking.

7.   What are my expectations of Penang?

 FUN AND INTERESTING.

Daily Reflections:

Every night, you will be typing a one-paragraph reflection using the sentence starters from each section below. Post the reflection on the blog upon completion daily.

As a Record of What Happened

The most important event that happened for me today was the star gazing at Dr Choon Kiat’s own self made observatory. The observatory really astounded me not in terms of how big or expensive it was but how the best choices were made for his situation and the climate we live in. When we think of observatories, we often think of a dome-shaped structure atop a hill. A visit to his observatory showed me what a push and slide rooftop observatory existed and how it is better for use in our situation. Situated in a tropical climate, we do not observe winter any time throughout the year. A dome-shaped observatory is shaped as such due to them need snow not to accumulate on the dome so that the roof will not collapse under the tremendous weight of the snow. However, there is no need for that in a tropical climate such as Penang. A push and slide rooftop is more cost-effective compared to a dome-shaped one. I also got to learn about the different types of telescopes that Dr Choon Kiat uses eg. newtonian telescope. Furthermore, I also got to learn about constellations, how to read the star map, and also observe stars in the observatory.

Insights Into What You Think and Feel About the Ideas or Issues

Something I would like to find more about is the different types of stars, galaxies and nebulae. We briefly touched on pulsing stars, variable stars, clusters and used nebula quite freely. However, I do not know as much of such thus I would really like to learn more about these things.

Thinking About Your Own Learning

Something I have found out about myself is I learn best when the concepts are applied through a hands-on activity and explained to me as we go along. At Dr Choon’s observatory I got to learn about how telescopes work through real life demonstrations as well as engaging hands-on activities. I feel that I have learnt a lot about astronomy through this method of teaching.

Thinking More Deeply

My point of view is learning about distant stars and the universe really puts things into perspective. Trying to imagine a galaxy or star that is 5 billion light years away really shows how insignificant planet Earth truly is. When light takes time to travel, strong telescopes can essentially see into the past events and I think thats really interesting as this is in a way time travel. However, I feel that astronomy makes me feel that the universe is mainly devoid of life and trying to imagine myself in a distant galaxy just really puts things in perspective.

Thinking About Alternative Points of View

I like to consider others points of view because I myself am only 1 person with 1 mind. I should seize the opportunity to ask as many questions as I can however, different perspectives or different people allows us to learn more even when we do not think of them ourselves. As such, alternative points of view truly help us to learn more.

Conclusions

In the future I would like to learn more about science in general but not specifically astronomy as I am not as interested in the stars but the astronomy itself is surely intriguing to me. I would also like to find out more about different types of stars, galaxies and nebulae.

Day 2 reflections:

The most important event that happened for me today was the visit to TECH DOME. The visit to tech dome allowed me to learn various scientific concepts like static electricity and its uses. Something I would like to find more about how the human gyroscope feels like as we did not have enough time to experience it in the TECH DOME.Something I have found out about myself is I have an irrational fear of heights. I found out about this when I did the Gdrop in the TECH DOME and was unable to let go of the handle when asked to even though it was completely safe.My point of view is that real world sciences cannot all be taught in a textbook and a traditional classroom. Instead, I feel that these sciences should be applied and demonstrated in real life to truly learn how to apply such knowledge and how it actually works through interacting with exhibits such as those found in TECH DOME.In the future, I hope to visit more Science Centres outside Singapore such as this one in Penang and hope to experience and learn more science.

Day 3 reflections:

As a Record of What Happened

The most important event that happened for me today was the visit to the Heng Ee Observatory. I got to see so many different types of telescope and even a huge telescope that costs 240,000RM.

Insights Into What You Think and Feel About the Ideas or Issues

I did not find the GForce ride fun at all even though the rest said so. There was tremendous pressure in my head and it hurt. Experiences vary from person to person.

Thinking About Your Own Learning

I found out that the pictures of the moon we see online are actually many pictures stitched up together and not just one picture. I also found out that the astronomy enthusiasts in Penang have done the same process for the moon as well and it takes a lot of effort and time to put together one picture of the moon.

Thinking More Deeply

My point of view is that passion is what drives these astro enthusiasts to do what they like. Star gazing and learning about astronomy is an expensive hobby and takes a lot of effort to learn about astronomy as well as apply them using telescopes. High end telescopes and observatories take a lot of money to buy and utilise and also this hobby depends on the location you are in.

Conclusions

In the future, I hope to find my own passion in the field of science and help the next generation of students like me.


Day 4 reflections:

As a Record of What Happened

The most important event that happened for me was the visit to George Town. The visit to the town showed me why this town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It shows me the cultural aspect of Penang in old buildings and a humble way of life.

Insights Into What You Think and Feel About the Ideas or Issues

I feel that George Town really makes me feel like I am travelling into the olden days of Singapore. George Town also showed me the parts of it that were a fishing village built on wooden stilts above the water.

Thinking About Your Own Learning

I found out that George Town has a simpler way of living as a humble town that cannot move past its time due to its heritage.

Thinking More Deeply

My teacher mentioned a point that I feel is a very nice insight into the situation of George Town. George Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site which means it cannot move forward and progress into a full fledged modern city.

Conclusions

In the future, I hope to join GCP trips like this again as I gained a lot of knowledge from this trip.