The Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) is planning to hold an annual robotics competition among the country’s science high schools.

The competition would allow science high school students to show their prowess in creating a robot, in the same manner as “Larry Labuyo,” the robot created by a group of students from the Philippine Science High School in Quezon City, which joined the prestigious FIRST Robotics competition in Hawaii and Atlanta, Georgia in the US.

The competition is set to be officially announced sometime in June or July, in time for the upcoming National Science and Technology Week (NSTW).

SEI Director Ester Ogena said the robotics competition is aimed at encouraging young science high school students to pursue technical courses related to the creation of robotics, particularly in the areas of software programming, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering.

Ogena said the Philppine robotics team recently sent abroad with “Larry Labuyo” are examples of young people working together to build a complex machine. “Obviously, our intention is to develop communities among our students.”

Ogena said the SEI is stil finalizing the guidelines for the competition. She said that the development kit for each school participating in the competition would have to be composed of parts mostly purchasable from local shops.

“We’re still working on what the development kit would have. They won’t have to be expensive but they have to be workable,” Ogena said.

By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Mass hysteria caused the unusual behavior of a number of students at the Pedro V. Panaligan Memorial National High School (PMNHS) in Calapan City, report from a medical team deployed by the Department of Education obtained by INQUIRER.net said.

The team — composed of psychiatrist Dr. Ma. Arlene Briones, psychologist Jennilyn Ebio from the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH), and Dr. Minda Meimban, medical officer IV of DepEd Health and Nutrition Center — conducted psychosocial intervention sessions or PSIs of faculty members and the supposedly possessed students on August 27, 2008.

Based on the PSI sessions, the team reported that before the students experienced the so-called “initial attacks,” most of them had family-related problems, such as parents separating and deaths in the family.
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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

GRACE Christian High School won a gold medal at the 6th World Robot Olympiad held on Nov. 18 in Taiwan. The team’s project called Operation Security Guaranteed is composed of a city diorama that has a group of security-based robots that fight fire, catch criminals and ensure building protection from would-be terrorist attacks.

The Grace Christian High School team is composed of Bryan Lao, Alyssa Sheena Tan and Mark Ian Tan. They won the gold medal in the Open Category for the Junior Level.

The team also presented their winning entry at the newly opened Science Discovery Center at the SM Mall of Asia.

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By Allison Lopez
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–They may not see a night sky filled with stars from their homes in the city, but an amazing simulation of one inside the Planetarium in Manila certainly made kids scream and clap their hands in wonder and perhaps, in appreciation.

“Ang galing (It’s great)!” said a girl from the Industrial Valley school in Marikina City as she and her classmates stared at the bright dots moving slowly on the ceiling.

“It’s an exact copy of the real night sky,” said Bel Pabunan, officer in charge of the Planetarium division. “Here in Metro Manila, the kids don’t see a night sky like that because of pollution and bright lights. But with the Goto Projector, we can simulate the night sky and project the planets and other deep space objects like satellites.”

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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

TEAM Sinag has finished 11th out of the 21 participants in the Challenge category of the Panasonic World Solar Challenge (WSC) in Australia.

Here’s a photo of the Sinag solar car crossing the finish line in Adelaide.

The Philippine team also finished 20th out of the total 38 participants in the WSC, an international competition for developers of solar-powered vehicles.

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