GEORGE TOWN, Oct 23 — Penang will host its third International Science Fair (PISF) next month, featuring showcases by 58 participating high-technology companies in a mammoth event touted as the country’s largest.

The two-day fair on November 15 and 16, to be held at the Subterranean Penang International Conference & Exhibition Centre (SPICE), is expected to draw a 50,000-strong crowd, according to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today.

Lim, in announcing the event, said the cost of organising the fair is an estimated RM450,000, a portion of which will be sponsored by the private sector.

“Tens of millions ringgit worth of equipment are also brought in by the industries as exhibits so this will be the largest fair to date,” he told a press conference at his office today.

The PISF is an event organised as part of the Penang Science Cluster’s (PSC) mission of “Inspiring Innovation”, which focuses on developing young minds and exposing them to science and engineering through a unique, stimulating and innovative experience.

The event is a collaborative effort between the Penang state government and the manufacturing industry.

Lim said the fair will also host the first-ever “Maker Faire” in Malaysia, which he said will put Malaysia on the map for its participation in the global community of makers and innovators.

The Maker Faire, which originated in the Bay Area in United States in 2006, is an international fraternity of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, students, science clubs and artists who will come together to showcase and share their work.

Another first for the fair is the PSC’s Young Innovate competition finals, Lim added.

The competition has attracted 80 teams of secondary school students nationwide. Thirty teams have been shortlisted to showcase their inventions and share their ideas during the November event.

Apart from that, the fair will also host the Penang Open Robotics Competition, he said.

“Another first in Penang – we will be hosting the Google Developer’s fest and Entrepreneurs Day, where software innovators and entrepreneurs using the Google platform will meet, showcase and share their ideas and inventions,” Lim added.

The first Penang Science Fair was held in 2011 and the second one was held in 2013.

Admission to the science fair is free and it is open from 9am to 6pm. For more information, go to www.pscpen.com.