StarEDUCatE, Sunday 22 February 2015

competition 3

themightychallenge isbackTHE competition which chal-lenges students on their knowl-edge of current events, theability to build an innovativemodel based on a theme andtheir creativity and oratoryskills kicks off in two weeks.Yes, the RHB-The Star MightyMinds Challenge 2015 is backfor the seventh year and startsin Ipoh, Perak on March 7.This is followed by Malacca onMarch 28 and Johor on April 4.The competition is open tosecondary school students inall 14 states.There are two categoriesin the competition – Lower

Category which is open to stu-dents in Forms One, Two andThree and Upper Secondarycomprising students in FormsFour and Five.While the format of thecompetition has largelyremained the same with themultiple-choice questionquiz, hands-on challenge, oralpresentation and buzzer quiz,the content has changed overthe years. There has been an

injection of new ideas and tougherquestions. This is to ensure thatthe competition stays ahead andis indeed a battle of the mightiestminds for teens in the country.From a “Science, Maths andGeneral Knowledge” quiz, whichtested students mainly on whatwas learnt in the classroom, thecompetition has become onewhere general knowledge takescentre stage.Third former Deshvinder Kaur

Delvinder Singh from SMK BukitMewah in Negri Sembilan, whowas part of the winning lowersecondary team in the MightyMinds National Challenge 2014,said those wanting to take part thisyear should brush up on their gen-eral knowledge.“Teams should also look at pastyear questions for Mighty Mindsand find out how the problemswere solved,” he said.His teammember Naviinesh

Morgan from SMK St Paul,Seremban said that every individ-ual should do their best.“Have a good balance of generalknowledge, model-building as wellas presentation skills,” he added.The competition comprises theState and National Challenge.The champs of the state chal-lenge in both the lower and uppersecondary categories will repre-

The annual competition will see some of the brainiest teens battlingit out for the first time this year in Perak.

Hands-onchallengequestions

PEraKTEAMS (com-prising threestudents each) will be givenone hour to build an original,innovative model in responseto the themes below.The themes may be inter-

preted literally or figurative-ly, but should be aimed atresolving a problem in oursociety. The best models willoffer a positive impact eitheron an identified customer oron the environment.The theme will be pub-

lished in StarEducate onSundays and the RHB-TheStar Mighty Minds microsite(www.thestar.com.my/mightyminds) two weeks before theday of the competition.The two-week period will

give you time to read andresearch and to be inspiredand ready for the hands-onchallenge.Since your team is

required to explain yourmodel to the judges, be pro-active and brush up on youroral presentation skills aswell.On the day of the compe-

tition, only the top 10 teamsfor each category in theMultiple Choice QuestionChallenge will be eligible totake part in the one-hourhands-on challenge.It takes effort, talent and

passion to win but prepara-tion is just as important.On completion of the

hands-on challenge, teamswill be given three minutesto present their model to thepanel of judges. Speaking inturns, teammembers willspeak for oneminute each.The models will be judged

based on the following threeaspects:

l Understanding of thetheme and how it impactssociety;

l The potential benefits of

the model and its marketa-bility;

l The creative features of themodel.

Lower SecondaryTheme: Bag Snatchers Beware

– Help prevent pedestriansfrom becoming victims ofsnatch thieves.

Upper SecondaryTheme:Hazy Days

– Help lessen the effects ofair pollution such as the hazecreated by deforestation ofpeat lands.Participants in bothLower Secondary and UpperSecondary will be providedwith a standard tool kit foreach hands-on challenge.It will contain the followingitems: Two pairs of scissors,1 pen knife, 1 tube of super-glue, 1 tube of PVA glue, 1roll of masking tape, 1 roll ofcellophane tape, 1 long ruler,1 screwdriver and 3 pairs ofgloves.In addition, you will be pro-vided with simple, econom-ical and disposal materialsthat youmay use to constructyour model.Be prepared to be flexiblein your innovation as some ofthe itemsmay be substituted.Typical materials youmaybe provided with include ablack mounting board (50cmx 38cm), a manila card (55cmx 38cm), elastic bands, popsi-cle sticks, an empty mineralwater bottle (500ml), a lengthof hose, a short spring, smallplastic containers with lids(7.5 cm diameter x 4cm high),a square of fabric, a piece ofnetting, paper clips, a shortlength of string, straws, acompact disc and beads.Teams will not be permit-ted to bring in anymaterialsor tools of your own.

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