Mr darren tan!

'Samurai' who fights for science

This 'samurai' does not use a sword to conquer the masses.
Instead, Mr Darren Tan uses a boomerang made of strips of cardboard
and a bicycle wheel balanced on his finger to combat people's
ignorance about science.

The self-dubbed 'science samurai' is a physics teacher at Pioneer
Junior College (PJC) who performs experiments using simple
household items.

He was among the 10 finalist teams in the Science Buskers Festival
organised by the Singapore Science Centre yesterday to spark interest
in the subject through creative performances.

Mr Tan, 28, created the persona specially for the competition, as he
sees himself as a 'defender of the honour of science'.

At PJC, he has earned a reputation for using common objects in an
uncommon way to teach.

He uses materials such as plastic bottles, packets of chilli sauce and
clothes hangers in his demonstrations, which are recorded and
uploaded on YouTube.

'Time is limited in class, but on the Internet, students can go and view
the demonstrations in their own free time,' said Mr Tan, who began
teaching in 2007.

'Learning does not stop after class. The students can conduct the
demonstrations themselves and spread the enthusiasm for science to
their friends,' added the man who graduated from Princeton University
with a degree in physics in 2004.

Huang Huifen

Source : the sunday times, 18 jan 2009.