Dr Timothy Tan Ter Ming

Teaches Natural Sciences, Molecular Biology & DNA Sciences

We live in a world where technology and machines make things run smoothly for us, almost like magic. If you have often wondered how things work but fear it might be too complex to understand, let Dr Timothy Tan give you a head start in demystifying life through his approach to science.

A proponent of the ‘maker’ culture and an approach where learners learn science by building their own instrumentation or devices, Dr Tan’s passion for science and technology comes through evidently in his lectures.

Journey with Dr Tan as he takes you out of the classroom and beyond the textbook. In the following chapters, he will show you how to build a laser-pointer microscope, ‘steal’ electricity from living cells, and design and create your own custom scientific instruments. His infectious passion and hands-on approach in bringing science to life will ignite your interest, empower you to ask questions, equip you with tools and make you long to start making innovations of your own.

Browse Lesson Plan by Dr Timothy Tan Ter Ming

1 min 42 secs

Introduction

Have you often wondered how things work? Are you keen to discover the next big thing? Do you have many questions but are clueless about how to get them answered? Are you put off by how complex the answers might be?

Join us in Dr Timothy Tan’s Education Launchpad and learn how to take a hands-on approach to learning science by starting with simple ways to examine the world around us. Get inspired to search for answers, ask questions, observe, experiment and ultimately, unlock your potential for innovation.

11 mins 38 secs

Chapter 1 - A Hands-on Approach to Science

Being a scientist means you do not just accept things at face value. You must be fuelled with the desire to go deeper into how things work, why they do what they do and even consider what you can innovate from them.

Using everyday objects, Dr Tan recreates a laser-pointer microscope powerful enough to make useful observations of the minute world in a drop of pond water. Beyond just doing your own experiments, you are guided to approach discovery systematically, so that what you learn does not become lost in sea of information stored in our heads. You will get into the habit of recording your observations, noting down questions to ask and opening up your mind to knowing a bit about everything.

Taking a hands-on approach to learning science engages your senses and makes it so much more interesting than just reading about it. It makes you understand how things work at the most fundamental level and allows you to innovate from that vantage point.

Join us in delving into the heart of science hands-on and experience the fun in learning by doing.

12 mins 07 secs

Chapter 2 - The Scientific Mindset

How do you think like a scientist? Why is it important to share what you have learnt with others and what is the one important thing you must always keep in mind?

In this chapter, Dr Tan addresses the scientific mindset and shows you how to manage data in a way that expands your knowledge, enriches your mind and sparks innovation. The highlight is seeing first-hand how you can extract energy from a living cell to produce electricity by building a microbial fuel cell from common items such as glucose, yeast and antiseptic solution.

There is a purpose to taking things apart and putting them back together again. It empowers you to know what steps you need to take and helps you understand how everything fits into the bigger scheme of things. These basic building blocks will connect what you know to how you can innovate further. Embark on this journey of discovery with Dr Tan.

11 mins 05 secs

Chapter 3 - Science as a Creative Process

Learning science puts you on a never-ending quest for answers. Each answer found often leads you inexorably to the next question. What is important is that you know how to find ways to get the answers you want and to create opportunities from what you have learnt.

In this chapter, Dr Tan demonstrates how to build your own custom scientific instruments using a microprocessor that can be programmed to measure and record readings from connected sensors. This is the first step to collecting the kinds of data you need so that you can interrogate and study phenomena of interest in the world around you.

Let Dr Tan spark the curiosity in you and spur you on to learn from everything, even mistakes and setbacks. Go the way of great scientists like Galileo, embrace the chance to find answers to your questions and celebrate finding the answers to questions you did not even think to ask in the first place. Get into the spirit of doing things just a little differently, for therein lies huge potential for real innovation to occur.