Details of KidsSTOP Unveiled

by littledayout.com on 21/02/2014 - 11:59 pm

Donning a red KidsSTOP cap, on 18 February 2014, Science Centre Singapore’s Chief Executive, Associate Professor Lim Tit Meng, used augmented reality to walkthrough the different zones of KidsSTOP, the new children’s science centre scheduled to open on 5 June 2014.

Designed to spark the interest of children aged 18 months to eight years old in science, KidsSTOP will comprise different zones and areas, centred around the four tenets of Imagine, Experience, Discover and Dream.

The Built Environment Zone will be fashioned after a bustling construction site where children can operate a mechanised crane and experience different aspects of construction. It will feature a magnetic wall with movable pipes and ramps for children to create their own structures and introduce concepts such as gear ratios and energy transfer. The Built Environment Zone is sponsored by the Building and Construction Authority.

At the Supermarket, children will be able to take on roles such as cashiers, customers, chefs and street vendors. This zone will introduce them how different food items are produced and the importance of good nutrition.

The Dino Pit will give kids a chance to become a paleontologist and search for dinosaur bones. They will be able to learn about common dinosaurs and how to classify them.

The Flight and Space Zone, sponsored by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, will allow chilren to create their own flying machines and even their designs in a wind tunnel. Here, they will be able to learn the science behind flight and also role-play as pilots and ground crew.

Active young ones will enjoy scaling the Big Dream Climber, a nine-metre climbing structure with unique hanging elements such as suspended leaves, flying fish and fanciful, hanging doors. Adventurous ones can take on the Giant J, a seven-metre slide that will allow them to experience free-fall for an instant before sliding to safety.

In addition to other learning zones, facilities at KidsSTOP will also include The Party Room, an open space with a stage for performances and a room in the corner that can be rented out for birthday celebrations. Very young children will be able to enjoy Small and Smaller Worlds, a dedicated space for them that will include a Nursing Alcove.

Associate Professor Lim said, “We are very excited about the development of KidsSTOP, a dedicated facility for younger children. It will tap on their natural curiosity at a critical stage of development as they discover the world around them through discovery and play.”

Do You Make Your Employees Too Valuable Too Fast? Many of you have these jobs in your organizations.  You fill them with new (or nearly new) graduates, either from college or a particular technical school certification or licensure.  Then you expose them to a year, maybe 18 months, of intense training and development, after which they are prepared to assume a critical role and set of responsibilities. Or be lured away by a talent competitor for significantly more money. These employees could be manufacturing technicians or nurses.  They might work in the physical sciences or account management.  What they have in common - regardless of their role or your industry - is that you have invested time, energy and resources into making them very valuable, and now your pay program may be preventing you from paying them commensurate with that value.  That annual 3% merit opportunity simply won't cut it in these circumstances. Situations like this often drive a lot of fire fighting, a lot of adhoc market adjustment activity.  Unfortunately, this type of reactive approach only feeds employees' perceptions (and the possible truth) that the organization doesn't recognize how valuable they are.  That they must take matters into their own hands in order to get paid what they're worth; not a tough thing to do when the recruiters start calling. Do you make your employees too valuable too fast?  First of all, congratulations!  Likely you've invested a lot in defining the competencies required for success in an important role and you're delivering the necessary training experiences to get employees there quickly.  Well done you!  Now let's make sure you aren't undermining that investment with your pay practices. Here are a few thoughts on tackling that challenge. Gather data to understand the problem.  Start by collecting the data necessary to get a clear understanding of the nature and scope of the problem.  You might look at your market adjustment activity, information on departures, counter-offers and what can be gleaned from exit interviews.  Is this a more general and diffused issue - or is it concentrated in a particular job or job family?  Is compensation really the driving force behind quits and threatened quits, or are there other forces at work? Seek market reference points to confirm the value trajectory.  If you are indeed hiring "fresh outs" and losing them 12-18 months later, and you have confirmed that compensation is a significant factor, focus on the kind of market reference points that will help you understand the value trajectory that these employees take during the first critical years.  Career centers at educational institutions often have information on new grad job offers, allowing you to confirm the starting point.  Then try pricing the kinds of jobs to which they are fleeing.  Note that these might be very different roles in very different organizations from yours.  Use this to estimate the typical net change in value for these employees through and following their development period. Audit/adjust pay policies and practices accordingly.  If you have an employee group where, thanks to your training efforts, the market value needle is moving at a rate that "regular" merit increases - or even merit plus promotional combos - can't possibly match, you've created a poaching risk.  Time to consider carving out this job - or job family - for a different approach.  This might be a tighter series of more narrow salary ranges, coupled with an accelerated salary review process, allowing employees to move both through and up as they hit developmental milestones.  Or it might be a defined set of salary steps overlaid on a the regular salary range, allowing a rapid progression through the first 12-18 months (again, assuming development and performance milestones are met), after which they can be rolled back into the regular cycle and process.  Or something else still. How have you responded to situations where you've made employees too valuable too fast?  What advice and experience can you share? Ann Bares is the Founder and Editor of the Compensation Café,  Author of Compensation Force and Managing Partner of Altura Consulting Group LLC, where she provides compensation consulting to a range of client organizations.  Ann serves as President of the Twin Cities Compensation Network (the most awesome local reward network on the planet) and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Compensation & Benefits Review, the leading journal for those who design, implement, evaluate and communicate total rewards.  She earned her M.B.A. at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School, is a foodie and bookhound in her spare time. Follow her on Twitter at @annbares. Creative Commons image "Arrows showing up" by FutUndBeidl

Talking To Kids About Sex And Porn

Nothing makes parents more squeamish than thinking about talking to their kids about sex. Truth is, we never know when our children may ask us that question. How will you reply them when that day comes? We can start by slowing introducing and talking to their children about the different body parts, including the female and male genitals, using the proper terms.

Now imagine you need to talk to your kids about porn. With the arrival of smart phones, porn can be accessible within the palms of your child’s hand. Whether we like it or not, our kids are going to encounter or hear the word one way or another, intentionally or unintentionally. It is not ideal that kids watch or consume porn, but if they happen to, they would need adult guidance.

Clearly, you don’t want the first conversation you have with your kid about sex to be about porn. Therefore, talk to your kid about sex NOW.

With young children, sex talks involve identifying their body parts by their correct anatomical name. Reading books about the human body can also help to get the conversations going. These are body parts that all humans have, and there is a reason behind each body part. It may be very awkward at the beginning. But the more experience you and child have, the easier it will be to talk about it.

As a family counselling therapist, I have many parents calling me with their concerns, who seek for my advice when they realize their child has been surfing pornography online. Working pre-emptively about porn is a parent’s best strategy. You want your child coming to you to learn more about sex, and preferably not through friends, the internet or pornography.

Dr. Marty Klein, a Sex Therapist and Marriage counsellor from the US sheds some light about pornography. Parents can educate their children about the points below when they are old enough to understand.

• It is not real. Porn is a group of professional actors and actresses who follow a written script and play characters, just like in other movies.
• Porn is like a video game, designed to entertain.
• It is not a documentary. It has a lot of editing and it is designed to thrill.
• Porn does not portray sex the way it really is. It leaves out a lot of what most people like about sex— the emotional aspects such as laughing, talking, and feeling close. Instead, porn is mostly physical, and show bodies rubbing against bodies, which is sex without feelings.
• Porn features unusual bodies doing unusual things. Your body doesn’t, and probably will never look like the bodies in porn.

If you need additional help or guidance for your child, going to your health counsellor or psychologist will be a great place to get accurate information and advice.

By Tammy M. Fontana, Lead Therapist, All in The Family Counselling

This article was first published in The New Age Parents Oct / Nov 2013 e-magazine