UPOU celebrates National S&T Week with LBSCFI's Science Festival.As part of the Los Baños Science Community, the UP Open University participated in the Los Baños Science Festival dubbed SyenSaya 2015, with the theme "Syensya at Kabataan: #WOWTLG" on 12-14 August 2015.
One of the flagship programs of the Los Baños Science Community Foundation Inc. (LBSCFI), Syensaya is the yearly celebration of the National Science and Technology Week. It is comprised of three major activities, namely, the Wonderama Exhibits, the Techno Forum, and the R&D Awarding and Closing Ceremonies.
SyenSaya 2015 officially opened on 12 August 2015 at the University of the Philippines Los Baños' E.B. Copeland Gymnasium. Dr. Casiano Abrigo, LBSCFI President and Executive Director of the UPLB Foundation, Inc., officially opened the three-day festival, which highlighted the importance of making science fun especially for the youth. In the same venue was Wonderama, a three-day exhibition of science discoveries and latest research breakthroughs by different LBSCFI member agencies and colleges of UP Los Baños. Wonderama was open to the public, especially to elementary pupils and high school students from the CALBARZON region.
The UP Open University booth featured the fun in online learning through Asst. Prof. Roel Cantada's virtual reality project entitled "San Diego Sim," which allows users to take on characters and explore aspects of Philippine History. Videos created by UPOU's Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies (BAMS) and Master of Development Communication (MDC) students were looped for students to watch. Asst. Prof. Charise Reyes of the Faculty of Education also conducted several science fun games for students throughout the three-day exhibit.
The Techno Forum, LBSCFI's attempt at bringing technology closer to the public, was held on 13 August 2015 at the New College of Arts and Science (NCAS) Auditorium of UP Los Baños. This year's forum targeted barangay officials of Los Baños, Bay and Calamba, Laguna, and carried the theme "Datos at Impormasyon na nasa Ayos, Gabay ng mga Pinuno sa Pamamahalang Maayos." The forum discussed the use of Community-based Monitoring System (CBMS) in barangay development planning.
On the last day of SyenSaya 2015, the R&D Awarding and Closing Ceremonies were held at SEARCA's D.L. Umali Auditorium. The PARRFI R&D Award for Research Category was given to Dr. Rodel G. Maghirang and his team from the UPLB Institute of Plant Breeding for the research entitled "Variety Evaluation, On-farm Trials and Seed Production of Organic Vegetable in Southern Luzon." The PARRFI R&D Award for Development Category went to Dr. Herminigilda A. Gabertan and her team from the Bureau of Plant Industry-LBNCRDC for the project entitled "Development of Organic Seed Production System of Lowland Vegetables and Legumes at BPI-LBNCRDC and Strengthening Partnership in CALABARZON, MIMAROPA and Bicol Region."
After a video presentation of the highlights of SyenSaya 2015, Dr. Abrigo officially closed SyenSaya 2015. He congratulated and thanked everyone especially LBSCFI member agencies and SyenSaya 2015 committee members for their invaluable contribution to the success of the festival. (Anna Cañas-Llamas)
