25.9.11 - National Horse Show

We went to the National Horse Show 2011 held at the Selangor Turf Club, Sungai Besi, near to The Mines. It was a very hazy morning when we left, and fortunately the haze cleared up when we arrived at the venue. We had to park our car at the parking lot 900m away and take a tram to the venue. We were lucky to arrive early that morning because the queue got even longer when we returned an hour plus later. 

  

We saw many horses in their stables. Each came complete with a signboard with their photo, name and place of origin.

 

E was brave and shook hands and took photographs with all the mascot horses that he came across.

Horse teeth

Why is it wearing a mask? To get it to relax / sleep?

The boys didn't want to go on the pony ride. They were afraid that the horse would jump. This was the result of them watching the equestrian competition 2 weeks earlier. They assumed that the horse would
jump.

Carriages

Inside the air-conditioned exhibition area:

Waiting for their balloons. This female clown was friendly and acknowledged every child that stood there by shaking their hands. Those in this line should emulate her. 

Hay

Looking at a tapeworm through a microscope

Anatomy of equine's lower limbs

Horse's skull

In the tram, returning to the car park.

25.9.11 - Lego creations

The boys made these lego creations

Tow truck

Exercising

Robot

23.9.11 - Playing at the park

We went to the neighbourhood park in the evening.

The boys are taller now and can push themselves on the swings. 

I always get them to practice on these 'obstacle course'. Now they can balance and walk on these benches / chairs and cross them on their own, without any hand-holding.   

20.9.11 - Lab activity @ Pusat Sains Negara

For our lab activity at Pusat Sains Negara, we did the following activities / experiments.
1) Testing for Starch
2) Testing whether a substance is acidic, alkaline or neutral
3) From Flower to Star
4) Flower blossom

1) Testing for Starch

Scooping items into the micro well to test for starch - We tested sugar, wheat flour, corn flour,  biscuit and baking powder by putting one or two drops of iodine solution into the micro well.

Squeezing iodine drops

If starch is present, the substance will turn dark blue / black.

2) Testing whether a substance is acidic, alkaline or neutral

Substance for testing: vinegar, detergent, toothpaste, sugar, lime juice, salt, shampoo and baking powder

Various items for testing

Squeezing in liquid detergent into the micro well

Add in a few drops of water

Put in the red and blue litmus paper. If the red litmus paper turns blue,  the substance is alkaline.  If the blue litmus paper turns red, it is acid.

3) From flower to star - Learning about water absorption

Bend into two, 5 toothpicks (but don't break them). Arrange in a circular container in the pattern shown above. 

Squirt water in the middle of the 'flower'. Watch it slowly move and change into a star. 

According to the facilitator, the bamboo toothpicks absorb the water and expanded, thus pushing outwards until their outer tips touched one another, to become a star. (I had initially thought that the water pushed the toothpick outwards). 

A star

4) Paper Flower blossomming - Learning about water absorption

Fill the circular container with water until it is half full

Put in the piece of paper 'flower' that has been folded flat. Watch it open up. The paper flower opens up due to water absorbtion. 

21.9.11 - Field trip to Pos Malaysia Mail Processing Centre

We had a field trip to Pos Malaysia Mail Processing Centre called Pusat Mel National (National Mail Centre) in Shah Alam. This place only handles bulk mails from corporations. Mails from individuals are handled at another location.

A model of the facility. It was a large place. 

Before we started the field trip proper, our group was pleasantly surprised to be treated to breakfast at their large canteen.

After breakfast, we were brought into the operations area which looked like a large warehouse building. We  were told that we couldn't see much activity as we went in the morning. The activity starts after 2 pm, and that's the time when the workers are very busy processing mails, etc.  

These are the automated stamping machines. They stamp very quickly on the envelopes, but the envelopes often get stuck and the machine had to be switched off, and the stuck envelope removed and place correctly. Then the machine is switched on again.  

The children were given the opportunity to stamp on the large sized envelopes. As these envelopes were large, they were not able to fit into the automatic stamping machines and thus had to be stamped by hand. 

It was a large area and this was only one section of it. 

Their mail processing machines could detect postcodes on the envelopes, even the handwritten ones and sort them out into the different postcode locations.

The letters that have been sorted according to their postcodes are put into these red boxes, which are then put onto moving rollers (akin to conveyor belts) and brought to another place

These red boxes, are then transported up this spiral section that are then transported on rollers high above.

Unstucking a red box that got stuck up there, after going through the spiral section

 

The boxes finally exit here and are later put into sacks to be distributed to the various locations. 

After we got home, S made these rollers and a box of letters from his lego toys.

A box filled with letters