I graduated from Bosphorus University-Istanbul-Turkey in 1988 with Bach.of Science degree in Physics Teaching, Science Educ. Dept., and I entered the national selection exam among 2000 physics teachers organised by the Ministry of Education. I got the second placement among them. I then applied to Yamanlar private school in Izmir in 1988. This school was a new school and did not have graduates yet in 1988. It was a boys school with a dormitory. The labs and the resources for physics were very weak at the beginning. I worked for two years as a regular physics teacher in Yamanlar high school in Izmir during 1988-1990. When we arrived our third year we had a chance to send 4 students to the 5 member National Physics Team. This was an extraordinary success in the history of science olympiads in Turkey. In 1991 Turkish national team went to Cuba. Next year, in 1992, three members of the national team was again from our school. This time there was another extraordinary event. As a general rule high school third graders (17-18 years old ) were participating in the international competitions. But one of our students Salih Adem was 3 years younger and he was only 14 years old. This was a world record in the 23 year physics olympiad history. Salih and other students went to Finland and Salih returned back with a bronze medal. Salih was very bright and naturally talented student. He obtained four medals in the following years successively. This was another world record for us. He obtained 2 gold and 2 bronze medals in four years. In 1993 we had 4 students in the National Physics Team and they went to USA for the competitions. Salih came back with a gold ,Sinan with a bronze, Burak and Taner came back with honorable mentions. Salih’s solution has been printed as an original solution in the official Physics Olympiad book. In 1994 national team went to China and 3 students from us again were selected to the team .Salih got a bronze. Yasin got an honorable mention. Salih also got his highest score (he was 11 in rank) in his 4 years of participation, but the result was only bronze. In 1995 two students from our team entered into the Turkish National Team and they went to Australia. Salih Adem got a gold and Fatih Memis a silver medal. 17 students from our team was selected to Turkish national teams during 1991 and 1995 .This contribution rate was like a miracle for a school and our team was working like a factory.Turkey has got total team rank scores as 10th, 8th, 10th successively. I have left Yamanlar High School at the end of 1996 with a search for new business opportunities in educational technology and project management areas.

In May 2001, after the decline of the okulum.com project I worked on developing several creative projects on education. During this period a news was published in NTV by Gulseren Guver on 13 December 2001 was saying that «Science education is apart from life» “ In a report presented to Ministry of Education by Istanbul Provincal Directory of Education, it was said science education delivered in primary schools in Turkey was just done on blackboard , there were very limited experimental apparatus in schools .. It said the investigative and exploring sides of children were very high in children especially when they are 7-12 years old and science education during this period was very weak in primary schools. Science education in primary schools just dampen curiosity and inquiry of children. In most of the primary schools science laboratories were seen as unnecessary and those opened ones were turned into classrooms by the same reason. Most of the equipment in science laboratory cupboards were out of order or unoperating. You can not find even a magnet in most science labs.Teachers are convinced that they can not apply individual learning in crowded classrooms . Those rare demonstration experiments practised by teachers are in such a way that it is not clear what it shows, how it is done, which results are found and what is the conncetion with the real life. Science teaching is performed in conventional blackboard tecnique, by memorizing facts and solving theoratical problems disconnected from nature. So science education is teacher centered ,authorotarian and by rote. It does not help students develop self confidence, produce creative ideas and develop personality.»

I started thinking to contribute a practical and creative solution for this complicated and big national problem. I have seen that it was really hard and difficult to educate some 400.000 teachers, to fill the laboratories of some 35.000 primary schools with science equipments and to change the very old habits , to find a practical and economic solution to the problems of lack of experimental science education in primary schools coming from some 500 years and start a social trend to foster innovation and creativity in Turkey .After a short investigation on internet I have observed that we can perform very simple but interesting experiments with everyday materials that you can find at homes or get from the supermarkets and even with the garbage or waste materials. I have made a collcetion of these experiments and named this project as «Inventors of the Future» In May 2003 during a conversation with a producer talking the attractiveness we have explored, that we can present experiments as attractive, interesting and astonishing experiences like Harry Potter magic school, and by this way an idea of a school like Harry Potter where magic is taught while actually science is learned came into my mind. So I have looked at my experiment collection and have seen that only a small part was suitable for such a presentation and I started to increase the number , content and quality of the experiments as suitable for a magic school design. After 4 month study, the number of experiments in the collection again reached over 150 activities. I have participated at birthday parties, family gatherings, other small meetings and school activities in the second part of 2003 just to see which experiments are mostly astonishing and interesting, and I have modified mine when I saw unsatisfactory impact. In 2004 and 2005 I have particiated in school presentations, supermarket and hotel shows to get more experience and reached out to some 1000 children.

In order to motivate children to participate in science and inventions, I am using magic and entertaining competition games concept. The specially selected and designed science experiments can be performed without using any laboratory equipment and they can be done by materials at homes or obtained from stores, even by using garbage. Children will be entertained and surprised so that they will not forget them forever and while they are getting involved in hands-on science experiences, their experimental exploration and inventory interests will develop. I also use my project management skills coming from my experiences in Dogan Media Group National Learning Project, World Bank financed community employment project, and European Commision Funded Education Reform Project. A paper written by Assistant Professor Teresa Crawford from California State University, Fullerton, supporting my method of “using discrepant events” in science teaching, could be found on pages 36-39 of the September 2003 issue of “Science Scope” magazine published by NSTA, which has 53 thousand members.

In ancient times magicians had big power in society. Today, of course, we realize that the mysterious world of magic mostly composing of illusions is based on scientific principles. Come with us on a journey of exploration into the science behind the magic. “Melih Yalcineli Invention and Magic School Program” allows everyone, both in the audience and on stage, to become a magician. The only real trick is that everything done is science at work. All of these challenging and astonishing magic tricks are performed as hands-on” workshops and “take home” magic shows

Kids participating in the “Melih Yalcineli Young lnventors program” are learning over 150 games, competitions and active learning activities as:
•Play with air and gravity: Levitate lots of books even a man by blowing, inflate a balloon without blowing , overcome gravity and make a small plane by just blowing, make a vacuum in small cups, feel the magical power of air, make a miki mouse from ballons and cups, make smoke rings, make a ballon flying by sunlight
•Play with water and ice: make cloud from a small cold water and boil water without using heat hold water so that it does not spill in a cup and stick water to a flat surface, deviate a flowing water column , dip a pinpon ball into water and raise it without touching, pass thread through ice, stick ice cubes easily, pass pencils from bags full of water
•Play with sounds: produce a gong of a large bell in a spoon, a small thunder using nylon bag, an oocean sound in a galss, a chicken sound in a plastic cup, a bee sound in balloon, a bird and a duck sound with a pippet, hear the sound of a potato, see how ears can find directions,
•Play with electricity: illuminate a neon-tester and turn on a fleorescent lamp without electricity, levitate and dance salt particles,turn a small piece of paper into a magnet ,make a dancing snake from a rope, create a simple lightning alarm, make a cellular phone out of action for a period, challenge balance rules
•Play with light and heat: take photo when flying on a magic broom, bent a light beam, separate it into beams and colors, make magnifiers from water and paper, turn one pencil into 5 pencil and make a straight pencil and stretched rubber band undulating, see invisible lights, cool hot water in a few seconds, produce heat in a baloon, by using sand and paper clip, light candle without fire, make a propeller working with a candle’s heat,turn the colour of your hands,
•Play with paper: turn a small piece of paper into into a tube, into a wood, make visible unforeseen letters on a paper , see the back of your hand, create magnificient towers, bridges , constuctions flying objects from paper, turn straight lines into circular lines, pass a coin from a small hole,walk in a small piece of paper,
•Play with coins and balls : make a coin invisible, dance a coin , change the motion energy into sound by using money, race coins by throwing and falling, challenge the energy conversation rule by balls, create place or coins in a glass full of water, move balls from one cup to another without touching, turn coins and buttons without touching, pass skewer from a balloon
•Create simple but interesting tools: Create seismograph from paper, simple rockets from straws, cologne and aspirins, make tops and cartoons from pencils, make a small compass from needle, make an acrobat stick, make fountains from straws, simple sound amplifiers from a table and and funnels
with the following practical and unexpensive materials that can be found at homes or supermarkets. These are Disposable materials , Pots and pans, Foods, Sewing and clothing materials, Bathroom materials, Tools, Furniture, Other household materials, Game materials, Stationery.

I want to reachout to the 10 million children of 6-12 ages, by different channels. I want to help them learn my interesting science experiments by hands-on applications in their homes, cdroms, in books, on a website, in periodicals, in newspapers, in schools, in summer schools, at hotels, in competitions and fairs. Target population lives in every corner of Turkey from big metropolitans to small mountain villages, from private schools to state schools. In short term, I want to continue pilot applications in Usak province in Turkey. I am following a TV program project now. If the TV project is successful, I hope to gather volunteers and maybe start more regional even national applications for the following years. After founding an NGO I want to start fundraising activities from national and international funds more effectively. I also want to develop and enrich the content of the project and maybe widen the subject area in other learning need of children critical for Turkey’s development.

Email: yalcineli@yahoo.com
Web site: www.yalcineli.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 12th, 2005 at 6:54 am and is filed under Index, Inventor.