Does steam have what it takes to crush a tin can? The public will be able to try this out for themselves with Dr Michelle Dickinson, in her NanoGirl Science Show during the annual Singapore Science Festival.

First organised in 2001, the month-long festival returns from today to Aug 19 at the Science Centre Singapore, with the theme of Future Health.

At a media preview yesterday, Associate Professor Lim Tit Meng, chief executive of the Science Centre, said: "Science and technology have played an important role in the advancement of healthcare, and will have the potential to improve our everyday life."

After all, he said, "if we have interesting programmes and initiatives, but our people are not healthy, we cannot execute them".

A highlight at the festival will be the NanoGirl Science Show. Its debut in Asia will see Dr Dickinson showcasing experiments on stage aimed at making science concepts come alive for the audience.

Dr Dickinson, who is a senior lecturer in engineering at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said the best way to learn about science is to be hands-on.

"You will remember concepts from the time you blew something up, and not from reading it in the textbook," she said.

Members of the public can also expect fun and wacky projects to be showcased at the first Singapore Maker Extravaganza, which is part of the festival. It aims to highlight the growing maker movement in Singapore.

The event will culminate with the one-north festival at Biopolis on Aug 18 and 19, where the public can take part in talks, workshops and guided tours to an Agency for Science, Technology and Research laboratory.