Petrosains: Stimulating Science

CSR in Education — By csr on March 10, 2010 at

Since March 25, 1999, PETRONAS’ Petrosains - the Discovery Centre has been providing a rich and stimulating environment aimed at enhancing science literacy and instilling in Malaysians a passion for scientific knowledge. Beginning with just six programmes, Petrosains now runs 37 programmes targeted at students, teachers, parents and the wider community. Interactive public events and partnerships with institutions nationwide have benefitted close to 200,000 participants, and this does not include daily visitors to Petrosains - the Discovery Centre at Suria KLCC. The centre recorded 336,812 visitors in year 2008To extend the benefits of Petrosains beyond the centre in Kuala Lumpur, Petrosains has established five key learning initiatives:

Petrosains PlaySmart - through which smaller satellite science centres have been set up in Butterworth, Langkawi and Johor Baru, where they enrich the local communities with interesting and engaging educational programmes. These include teachers’ workshops which introduce interesting methods of teaching science to enrich science classes and make them more appealing, thus increase student’s appreciation of science. Petrosains PlaySmart has so far benefitted 189,025 participants through 28 programmes.

PETRONAS Street Smart - a road safety programme established in 2001 as a travelling exhibition with the principle of using fun and interactive exhibits to attract and engage Malaysians in lessons concerning road safety. Youth and adults who participate in the programme are amazed, for example, by the devastating force on a body when one is involved in an accident. They are further equipped with all manner of highly practical knowledge, such as that wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of death in a crash by 61% and that wearing a helmet reduces fatal and serious head injuries by up to 45%. The travelling exhibition has so far received close to one million visitors.

Sahabat Petrosains - are four day-three night science camps where hands-on science activities are used to spark the interest in science and technology among the orang asli and Pribumis in Sabah and Sarawak as well as rural areas in Peninsular Malaysia. Conceived in 2002, it attracts an average of 100 participants for each event.

Petronas Career Awareness Programme - sessions conducted to raise public awareness of exciting careers in science in general as well as in the oil and gas sector in particular. Some 4,778 students and 622 teachers have attended these career shows between January 2008 and June 2009.

Petrosains Volunteer Scheme - introduced in 1999, the scheme is open to those aged 17 to 65 years, and aims to promote the spirit of volunteerism at nurturing interest in science and technology. Volunteers are given basic training in science, teamwork and communication skills to boost their self-confidence, and are then engaged as Petrosains ambassadors. For youth, the experience does wonders for their confidence and stands them in good stead to obtain employment upon completing their stint with Petrosains. Among the volunteers are also pensioners who appreciate the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to society. From January 2008 to June 2009, 423 volunteers have been recruited and trained while 475 volunteers have undergone additional training.

The Prime Minister’s CSR Awards, launched by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development in 2007, aims to recognise companies that have made a difference to the communities in which they operate through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. Download the Official Entry Form.