Have you ever caught a star? More than 72 school teams tried in the Fun Science Competition 2002 held recently at the Hong Kong Science Museum. The competition, with the theme 'Reaching For The Sky', required participants to design a moving device - operated mechanically or powered by batteries - to trigger the release of seven 'stars' from a container and to catch them as they fell. The team that collected the most stars would be the winners. Of course, they were not really stars, but ping-pong balls. But that was difficult enough. Sometimes the ping-pong balls bounced away because the container was too shallow. Sometimes they bounced off each other. Some devices moved so fast that they missed all the ping-pong balls. Others missed entirely and failed to catch a single ball. Students came up with different designs for their devices. There were cardboard boxes, plastic boards, styrofoam boards, and even stockings. A total of 20 teams from the upper and lower divisions were awarded with first and second prizes, best design award, best craftsmanship award and best design drawing award. The Fun Science Competition 2002 was jointly organised by the Hong Kong Science Museum, Society of Hong Kong Scholars, Hong Kong Association of Heads of Secondary Schools and Hong Kong Association for Science and Mathematics Education.
