Sony Taiwan hosted the 6th Sony Creative Science Award (SCSA) for children. At the end of the program, 20 finalists of toy contest were announced and their ideas were put on display at the 6th Sony Creative Science Award Exhibition. Sony Taiwan and Sony group companies in Taiwan also created excitement through workshops and other activities.

Sony Creative Science Award (SCSA) is a global CSR program that is designed to raise children's curiosity and interest in science in unique and fun workshops. This year, Sony Taiwan hosted the 6th Sony Creative Science Award for children in grades 3 to 6 (age from 8 to 12) with the theme: "Creative Toy DIY ─ My dream toy". Over the eight-month program, the participants were asked to create their ideal toy, incorporating basic scientific concepts that they learned in various workshops run by Sony groups and other partners. The program was co-hosted by Yuan T. Lee Science Education Foundation and directed by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. Sony Taiwan promoted this event extensively on their homepage and social channels with behind-the-scenes videos. Co-sponsoring SCSA this year were AXN Taiwan, ANIMAX Taiwan, and So-net Entertainment Taiwan, who also supported online promotions via social channels, supplied giveaway items at events, and held booths at the SCSA Exhibition in July.

As part of the training, Sony Taiwan held a "Science and Digital Image Creation Training Course," where Sony photography instructors taught contestants how to tell their own stories in a creative way, using Sony digital cameras and camcorders. The children created 30-second movies about their toy projects and gained a basic understanding of cameras and photography in the process. In addition, they were requested to video-shoot the process of developing toys and results of their works for the final submission.

Participants recorded the ideation and toy-making process

On June 3rd, 20 finalist teams presented their toy ideas to the panel of judges, which included members of So-Net and AXN, at the National Taiwan University of Society Science College. Five teams were awarded prizes, presented by Chairman of Sony Taiwan, Yuzo Otsuki.

The toy ideas of the 20 finalists went on display at the 6th Sony Creative Science Award Exhibition in Taipei Science and Technology Museum from July 26 to 29. At this exhibition, So-net Taiwan's mascot MOMOMIX and ANIMAX's mascot OO-Kun showed up and entertained kids and families. Sony Taiwan also held a stamp rally activity "challenge games" and workshop to attract visitors. So-net Taiwan prepared their famous MOMOMIX AR game, and AXN provided new games that introduced animation technology to children. In addition, Sony ExploraScience introduced their "Smile Fight" game, which utilizes facial recognition technology to score players' smiles.

Presentation to judges

Exhibition ceremony with MOMOMIX and OO-Kun

Enjoying "Smile Fight"

Sony groups also collaborated to hold workshops during the exhibition, including the Sony Science Program to introduce Internet of Things design in a workshop with app-enabled smart sensors called "MESH" . One MESH workshop was held exclusively for Sony employees and their children. Also conducting workshops were Yuan T. Lee Science Education Foundation's Course, Maker Faire New Taipei Creative Teaching and uHandy mobile.

The ideas of the finalists were on display again at Kaohsiung Science and Technology Museum from August 9th-12th, where the various workshops were available to children and families.