In a world where science is the closest thing we have to magic, it’s both important and interesting to get to the bottom of things to find out why things are the way they are.

On Sept 1 and 2, members of the general public got to have a taste of the fun scientists experience behind laboratory doors at X-periment! – a 3 day science carnival held at Marina Square Central Atrium – and no, I’m not being sarcastic about them having fun.

Not only were there Magical Maths & Science Shows by renowned science performer, Mr. Eddie Goldstein, from Denver, participants also got to experience for themselves what it’s like to be a scientist for a day (or 3 days to be exact, if one was a hard core science geek) by experimenting with the likes of virtual gaming and chromatography.

According to Dr. Chew Tuan Chiong, Chief Executive of the Singapore Science Centre (SSC), at the launch of X-periment! on Aug 31, the carnival aimed to bring “highly fascinating science” together with “hard ball science” out of the laboratory to arouse the public’s interest in the scientific field. In other words, audience was in for a fusion of how tedious theoretical science applies to our everyday activities.

RAdm Lui Tuck Yew, Minister of State, Ministry of Education encouraged this by recognising the problem of the lack of natural resources Singapore has been constantly facing. “Singapore must leverage on our human talent, our human capital and the wealth of knowledge that is in our mix… Singapore has already seen many successes [in this scientific industry].”

Also, as Dr. Chew mentioned, “Science touches our everyday lives and makes it better. Hence the theme of science.07: Science is Life.”

Science.07, which is a month-long science festival, aims to promote greater awareness and public understanding of the role of science, and accords greater recognition to scientists and engineers. The festival has grown since 2001 in terms of audience turnout (when it was called science.01) and Dr. Chew said that science.07 is expected to attract more than 80,000 visitors.

In accordance to this year’s theme, X-periment! adhered to ‘Science is Life’ indeed. The carnival kick starts science.07 through a collection of exhibits from selected learning institutions and research agencies.

For example, one of the more noteworthy exhibits was Republic Polytechnic’s (RP) food products which incorporated the use of nutraceuticals aimed at improving and maintaining health and wellness. Let’s face it, most Singaporeans live to eat. Who wouldn’t have wanted to grab this opportunity to improve our dietary habits?

For those beginning to despair about what they’re putting in their tummies, the ‘home made’ ice cream by RP was made available at certain food outlets.

Another exhibit that successfully showed how science is a fundamental part of our lives is by the Institute of Materials Science & Research Engineering (IMRE).

The institution pieced together an exhibition panel that elucidated the man on the street without any of the pretentiousness science geeks are reputed to have.

Their exhibit studied the characteristics and uses of the various materials such as metals, ceramics, and plastics that are employed in science and technology, and for this fair, they showed the uniqueness of using corn starch as depicted in the video below.

IMRE also allowed audiences to try out for themselves what it is like, giving them the opportunity to pique their interest.

These are just but a couple of instances. X-periment! was home to many interesting exhibitions and if you’ve missed it, do check out the various science activities that will be coming up in the month of September!