Illustratum 2025
Illustratum—a showcase of creativity, resilience and the art of communication—provides a platform for school students to turn abstract scientific concepts into lively demonstrations, models, and storytelling. The heart of the contest lies in its emphasis on science communication, retelling complex physics in a way that could be easily understood.
On 1 August, the first-year physics lab at NUS Physics was buzzing with energy as the awards ceremony unfolded. This was the day where students would be acknowledged for their months of brainstorming, research and experimentation. What began as a modest event in 2022 with just 55 teams from 15 schools has now blossomed into a celebration of science storytelling, with participation from 82 teams representing 25 schools this year.
“This is actually my third year joining this event and I’m really very glad to see the participation grow from strength to strength,” guest-of-honour Mr Ong Kong Hong, Divisional Director, MOE, said in his opening remark.
Mr Ong stressed that science is indeed a very powerful tool for understanding the world around us but not always easy to appreciate. That’s why science communication matters—to be able to break down a complex concept in a way that is interesting and easy to understand. “Here today, I see a lot of creativity, a lot of curiosity at work, how you try to present ideas in a very different way to inspire and to engage your audience. It is a showcase of your creativity and communication skills which are all very important to the 21st century competencies that we seek to develop in our curriculum and in our schools. So I’m glad that Illustratum provides the opportunity and I encourage you to continue to be curious and to try out new things as you journey on in life.”
Adding to this, Assoc Prof Andrew Bettiol, Deputy Head of NUS Physics, highlighted the unique nature of Illustratum in his welcome speech. “This competition is a little different from others. It gives you a chance to excel in scientific communication. In school, you’re busy learning equations and concepts, but what’s often forgotten is: how do you communicate those ideas? Communication is essential, whether you continue in science or not. And I hope this has been enjoyable too, not just work, but meeting fellow students from across Singapore.”
Indeed Illustratum is not simply a contest of knowledge mastery. For schools, the event has proven to be a valuable opportunity to hone the skill of communication.
“When this competition was brought to our attention last year, we thought that the communication angle is very aligned to our school’s niche areas, and therefore it’s a natural platform for students who are not so exposed to high-level STEM research, to have an avenue to express their talents,” recounted Mr Lim Kang Yu, Vice Principal of Evergreen Secondary School. He added that Illustratum offered students a good chance to communicate using the language of science, beyond what they usually encounter in language lessons.
Mr Benedict Chui, teacher from Yishun Secondary School, emphasised the endearing value of communication. “Most importantly, we want to give students the exposure to communication to an audience at a very young age. Whether they pursue science or not, communication is still critical. And beyond just learning the concepts, science is also about articulating concepts in ways that make sense.”
Walking among the projects, one could sense the sheer diversity of ideas, each attempting to showcase some physical phenomenon visibly and audibly. An idea gathered from observation, daily life encounter or even imagination is sometimes just what it takes to spin off a project.
Team A from Bedok Green Secondary School recreated a tuned mass damper, an idea which ignited in them after learning about Taipei 101, a skyscraper known for its engineering feat at withstanding earthquakes and typhoons.
“So what we are trying to show here is technically a replication of Taipei 101 with a tuned mass damper,” explained one student. “During an earthquake or the presence of strong winds, there is an external excitation with its own frequency. When it matches the natural frequency of a building, it’s a phenomenon called resonance. This will cause the building to sway unnaturally, with a high risk of collapse. By adding a tuned mass damper tuned to the same natural frequency as the building, the swaying motion can be reduced due to the damping effect.”
With a data logger connected via a laptop, the team also attempted to capture the results of the damping effect of the tuned mass damper. Indeed one can already detect budding engineers at work here.
Team la guitarra from St Joseph’s Institution found inspiration closer to home: their involvement in guitar ensemble. “We wanted to explain the physics behind music. Standing waves are the key concept here and are found in musical instruments like the guitar. The main challenge we had was trying to brainstorm how to actually show standing waves in our real life as it’s really, really fast. How do we slow it down and make it interactive?”
The team finally came up with three demonstrations: a rope vibrating in a long hallway, an electric toothbrush with moving loops, and, finally, the electric guitar itself. “When we kind of look further into what Illustratum was actually about, which is to make the invisible visible, quoting from our mentor, we decided to scale up and go beyond just the guitar.”
For National Junior College’s Team Piezo Papas, their Eureka moment came from their observation of hybrid engines on the road. “We found out about regenerative braking, and then explored other ways to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy. That’s how we discovered piezoelectricity where crystals like quartz generate voltage under stress.”
The team created a working circuit to light up a bulb with piezoelectric transducers connected in parallel, full bridge rectifiers to handle alternating current, and capacitors to smooth out voltage spikes. “So the science behind piezoelectricity is basically converting mechanical energy into electrical energy through forms of pressure. Every time you press or bend the crystal, it generates voltage. In future, we hope to integrate this into shoes to make energy harvesting footwear. So we thought this could really help, for example, the older generation, as when they are walking, they can reap electricity to charge any medical devices on hand.” This is certainly going to be a useful invention given a rapidly aging society that we are fast growing into.
Curiosity, resilience and the freedom to experiment were also the driving factors for students to transform their ideas into action.
“We wanted to do something that seemed like magic,” Team Air Benders from Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) shared. “It’s our first time going into any science competition. We were just curious on how far we can go with this. We’re really grateful for this experience because it’s a chance to learn something new. We started with the idea of bending water with sound, then found something about levitation. So we thought, why not combine both and explore acoustic levitation? It’s really an enjoyable new experience.”
“I signed up on my own,” shared Jasmine Ei of Manjusri Secondary School. “It was the first time our school is involved in Illustratum. I thought maybe I’d get more than just participation. We did a not so popular topic on heat. Halfway through the project, we even wanted to give up, but I learnt resilience, that we had to give our best regardless.”
“Illustratum gives us an opportunity to just build whatever we want and have fun and explore concepts. Without this opportunity, we would just have been taking tests, experiencing the normal student life. It’s really extremely interesting and truly a unique experience and opportunity for us,” recounted Team Roasted Marshmallows of Catholic High School who was here for the second time.
Markell Lee from River Valley High School shared the same sentiments. “I think it’s really fun. This is the first time I had freedom to do projects I wanted to explore, making and testing out stuff on my own. It’s different from the structured way you do in school which I think is really cool.”
Another guest-of-honour at the event, Ms Tham Mun See, Chief Executive of Science Centre Singapore, expressed her belief in the partnership with NUS Physics and MOE in spreading the love of science, in communicating science and making it accessible to everyone, young and old. “Firstly, we want to communicate science and ignite curiosity and spark a sense of discovery in everyone. Secondly, we want to bring people together through science, supported through curiosity as well as a shared commitment to discovery. And so this is what Illustratum has done as well in bringing us together as one community.”
Ms Tham also spoke at length of the various events and activities to engage students as well as the public at Science Centre Singapore including a mentorship programme, an international science drama competition and various exciting exhibitions.
As Illustratum 2025 drew to a close, the atmosphere was one of celebration—students exuberating creativity, perseverance, and confidence; teachers seeing in their students new dimensions of talent; guests leaving inspired by the youthful curiosity on display. And perhaps the most endearing gift of Illustratum: reminding us that when science is communicated with passion, it doesn’t just explain the world—it brings people together.
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