On Thursday, December 1 a small group of Lower Secondary students from Years 7 and 8 along with our Science teachers, took part in a special event for VIPs from relocation companies, education consultancies and the media. The annual event was hosted by our Admissions team and took place at the Conrad Hotel. The theme of the evening was ‘Science and Technology’ and our students demonstrated some of their favourite classroom experiments and activities. 

Guests enjoyed a VEX Robotics demonstration showcasing our students robots which they’d built entirely from scratch. They explained how they built their robots with a special VEX IQ robotics kit and the programming involved to run them on autopilot or by use of a controller. Vex Robotics is a popular new Co-Curricular activity for our Middle School students, supporting the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) curriculum. Students can benefit in many ways from robotics as it helps them to practice and develop their communication, collaboration, critical thinking and teamwork skills. Robotics was introduced to our school this year with the aim to eventually set up our very own YCIS VEX Robotics Team to compete against other schools in Asia and the US. YCIS is one of the first international schools in Hong Kong to introduce VEX IQ Robotics into its curriculum.

Our VIPs also took part in an interactive activity entitled ‘Robotic Straw Hand’. This activity is in line with the Year 7 unit on the ‘Skeletal and Muscular Systems’. The students showed our guests how to assemble a robotic straw hand. They then demonstrated how the human hand functions, showing the parts of the straw hand that represents the bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Once assembled the straw hand can grasp and pick up objects, replicating the mobility and dexterity of a real human hand. Guests took turns to try building their own robotic straw hand while students explained more about how the hand works and gave some helpful tips on how to build the best straw hand possible.

Our Year 8 students walked guests through a water purification experiment for the final activity on the evening’s programme. Students chose the activity as a means to highlight to guests how simple water purification techniques can help to solve a critical global issue. Many children in third world countries have no access at all to clean water and die or get sick from drinking polluted water even though there are many inexpensive water purification methods. It was staggering to learn how such a simple experiment if enforced in these countries could help save so many people from disease or even death.

Thanks to our students and teachers for providing all of our guests with a memorable and enlightening evening.