Young scientists are doing it for themselves

The Grahamstown learners had a splendid time studying the rocky shores of Kenton-on-Sea (Picture: Langa Masiza) Nozi Hambaze, Education Outreach Officer at SAEON’s Elwandle Node (front row, centre) is surrounded by science camp learners (Picture: Chris McCartney) Spokazi Swartbooi (left) and Xolela Ngcete won bronze medals at the Eskom Expo for their project entitled “Life on rocky shores” (Picture: Chris McCartney) Seventeen learners will represent the Grahamstown Region in the Eskom Expo national finals which will be held in Johannesburg (Picture: Chris McCartney)

This year’s Arts Festival in Grahamstown took place in bitterly cold weather. Grade 10 learners from Grahamstown secondary schools Nathaniel Nyaluza, Ntsika, Nombulelo, TEM Mrwetyana and Mary Waters escaped the cold winter by participating in SAEON Elwandle Node’s science camp which was held at Assegaai Trails.

The learners had a splendid time studying the rocky shores of Kenton-on-Sea. The aim of the camp was to introduce them to scientific methods so that they would be able to tackle any scientific project they come across. Chris McCartney of Bonani Educational Enterprises provided learners with a platform for expressing their creativity in putting presentations together after they had sampled and analysed their data.

The learning experience did not end at the science camp - those who were brave enough entered their projects into the Eskom Expo. Two learners, Spokazi Swartbooi and Xolela Ngcete won bronze medals and they are among the group of 17 learners selected to represent Grahamstown Region in the Eskom Expo national finals which will be held in Johannesburg. They did extremely well considering that there were close to 200 entrants into the Expo.

Our role as SAEON’s Education Outreach Team is to facilitate and be supportive of the learning experience. This approach ensures that the learners gain the self-confidence, values and skills they need to strike out on their own.