Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at the Exhibition of World's Longest Span Bridge LEGO Bricks opening ceremony today (March 21):
 
Professor Ken Ho (Chairman of ICE Hong Kong Association); Chai-kwong (Vice President of ICE Hong Kong Association, Professor Mak Chai-kwong); CK (Permanent Secretary for Development (Works), Mr Hon Chi-keung); Robin (Global Long Span and Speciality Bridges Director of AECOM, Mr Robin Sham); Charlton (Regional Executive of AECOM, Mr Charlton Wong); David (Director of Property of the MTRC, Mr David Tang); distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good evening!  I am delighted to join you all tonight to witness the opening of the World's longest Lego Bridge reassembled in Hong Kong.  First of all, my heartfelt congratulations to Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) on your 200th anniversary and my sincere gratitude to ICE Hong Kong Associate for bringing the world's longest Lego Bridge to Hong Kong! 
 
     Lego bricks are clear winner of the most popular toy across all ages and genders.  They are fascinating toys for kids and can be turned into creative art work for adults.  This evening, it will be presented in the form of an engineering wonder – the world record-breaking Lego Bridge made of 260 000 pieces of Lego bricks.  This Lego Bridge was designed by our bridge expert, Dr Robin Sham who is a world-renowned specialty bridge director.  The Bridge was first exhibited in the ICE Library in London in 2016.  Now it is launched in Hong Kong to celebrate ICE's bicentenary. 
 
     The exhibition today showcases the creativity, technical know-how, critical thinking, team spirit of civil engineers, perseverance and helps inspire our younger generation to learn deeply and think critically in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects and understand what civil engineering is and why it is important.  Indeed, hands-on learning is a critical part of civil engineering.  ICE has generously made special arrangements for some 80 secondary students from 8 different schools to gain hands-on experience in assembling the key components of this Lego Bridge.
 
     The Government is committed to promoting STEM education to nurture young talents in face of rapid scientific and technological development worldwide.  The Chief Executive, in her inaugural Policy Address last October, stated that the Government will collaborate with tertiary institutions and other relevant organisations to arrange more large-scale quality activities, namely education fairs related to science and technology, to provide more opportunities for students to apply what they have learnt and share their learning with each other.  The STEM Education Centre newly set up in the Arts and Technology Education Centre at Lok Fu has also commenced operation to provide training and relevant teaching support to primary and secondary school teachers and students.  In parallel, the Education Bureau has updated the curricula of STEM Education Key Learning Areas, and completed the drafting of a supplementary document on "Computational Thinking-coding Education" for use by schools.  To further arm the leadership and management tier of all primary and secondary schools with relevant skillsets to plan and implement school-based activities related to STEM, we have launched a series of intensive training programmes as part of their professional development.
 
     However, Government's effort alone is not enough.  We need the support of relevant sectors like the ICE Hong Kong Association and general public, particularly on young people, to promote STEM education and further enrich our students' learning.  The exhibition of the longest Lego Bridge in Hong Kong is a shining example of how the community can help raise the interest of the general public in innovation and technology and allow our students to have positive experience in applying engineering knowledge in daily life. 

      On this note, I wish the exhibition a great success and ICE many prosperous years ahead! Thank you!

Ends/Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Issued at HKT 21:30

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