Singapore Polytechnic Open House, 13 January

Yesterday, I went to the Singapore Polytechnic open house with my family. When my father told me about it in the morning, I was reluctant to go as I thought it would be boring and I should go 2 years later, when I am a secondary 4 student. I felt that my father was too "kiasu" (afraid of losing) as his objective was to let me know how hard I need to work in order to enter the Singapore Polytechnic.

On the way to the Singapore Polytechnic or SP for short, I fell asleep in my father's car. I was amazed by the size of SP as it was huge compared to Victoria School. We entered SP through gate 3 which leads us to the staff centre.



In the staff centre, I saw a swimming pool which was closed for maintenance. According to the students, the swimming pool was filled with mineral water instead of chlorine water and both students and teachers are allowed to use it for free. I saw a club having its weekly practice in the staff centre.



In their canteen or better known in SP as food court 5, I found KFC and Pizzahut. I also found a Popular bookstore and a travel agency near food court 5. The fast food sold at KFC and Pizzahut were cheaper than the ones sold in outlets in shopping centres.




There are escalators and lifts which not only lecturers are allowed to use, students are allowed to use too. There is even a MRT station right at the doorstep of SP. It is sad that in Victoria School, students are not allowed to take the lift without permission from the teachers.





When I reached the convention centre, I saw many students giving away goodie bags and free ice cream to the visitors.


There were many students playing table soccer outside the convention centre.



In the Spinnovex exhibition, many projects that were made by students were exhibited there.


Out of all the exhibitions, the few interesting projects that captured my attention was the flight simulator, the mechanized rubbish chute and all the robots exhibited there. There were many robots in the spinnovex, such as wall climbing robots, robots that play soccer, sumo robots, a band comprising of robots and robots that dance.





After we left the spinnovex, we went to food court 3 for lunch. The food there were cheaper and more delicious than the food in Victoria School.

As SP was too big, we had to take a tour bus to get from one end of the campus to the other.



We went to the Moberly Hub in SP. It was revealed by the our tour guide that many students go there during their free time to chat and have fun. There are table soccer machines, pool tables, LAN gaming, karaoke lounges and many other facilities for students to use. However, most of them cost $1 per hour to use.



Next, we went to the optometry centre where students taking "Diploma in Optometry" course study. It is also used to provide free eye check for students. It is open to public but charges $5 for the eye check. I was surprised when I heard that students taking the "Diploma in Optometry" course would receive a year supply of disposable contact lens for free. I wonder what they are going to do with the contact lens if they do not need them.

When we prepared to go to the School of Business, I saw something dangling about from a tree. I noticed it only when it was millimetres away from my face. It looked like a caterpillar, albeit an orange one.



At the School of Business, we learnt how people in talk shows or broadcasting news remember what they have to say. They will look at a screen slightly above the camera to see what they have to say. There will be someone who will control how fast the words scroll across the screen. I even got the chance to enter the "director's room" and see how the director observe the filming of talk shows.



I had a great time at the Singapore Polytechnic open house. I hope to study there after graduating from Victoria School. However, to go there, I must put in more effort in my studies, especially my English and my Chinese.