Entertainers help children get their natural act together
'For insects, plants and birds in flight, somewhere in the world's just right,' chant seven classes of Primary Two students, following the hand movements of their two on-stage guides in an imaginary tour of the natural world.
From the depths of warm coral seas off Africa to the frozen wastes of the Arctic to the scorching Arizona Desert, they encountered sharks, polar bears and a talking cactus to learn how animals and plants fit into their environment.
The Sau Mau Ping Catholic Primary School students were watching one of 10 performances of Just Right, a bilingual interactive play performed by British educational drama company, Floating Point Theatre. The show was part of Science Alive, a series of events run over the past two weeks to promote interest in science, organised by the British Council and the Education and Manpower Bureau. Floating Point has been visiting local schools as part of this scheme since 2000.
'It was great,' said Yoyo Cheung Wing-yiu, six. 'No one has ever given us a performance like that before. I hope our teachers invite more people to come soon.'
Katherine Shaw, one of the two actors in the show, said language learning was a secondary goal.
'The aim, ultimately, is science but as we are here in Hong Kong, we can also make it about English vocabulary,' she said. 'In performances for older children we can introduce more about English grammar but with this show the focus is on words. That means I have to use more actions and stop myself from talking too much.'
Actor William Yip Shum-hin said it was not only the students who could learn from the performance. 'I hope that we can show teachers they can approach things in a more creative and entertaining way,' Mr Yip said.
