Planting the seed of science in bright young minds

Intern Catherine Browne teaches Hout Bay High learners about scientific writing. Former intern Busiswa Matyholo and Thomas Mtontsi (above) judge projects at Cape Town’s mini Eskom Expo. Learners from the SAEON Egagasini schools programme at the mini Eskom Expo. From left: Palesa Moloi (Sophumelela High), Thabiso Zulu (Hout Bay High) and Zikona Ngcongo (Sophumelela High). Learners attend the mini Eskom Expo certificate award ceremony. The programme for International Biodiversity Day 2012 featured a demonstration by Thomas Mtontsi and a presentation by SAEON’s Dr Lara Atkinson (above). Interaction with students at the Sea Point Research Aquarium during International Biodiversity Day.

Since joining the SAEON Egagasini team as a DST-NRF intern, I have become involved in the Egagasini education outreach monitoring programme together with Education Outreach Officer Thomas Mtontsi and former intern Busiswa Matyholo and their teams at various schools.

We have participated in discussions and encouraged and guided students with their research projects for this year’s Eskom Expo for Young Scientists. It has been an enlightening experience to witness the enthusiasm and hard work of some of the students involved and their persistent effort and dedication despite school and personal commitments.

The Egagasini education programme is involved with five high schools in and around Cape Town (Hout Bay, Ocean View, Masiphumelele, Sophumelela and Usasazo). Thomas and his team have encouraged students to pursue a scientific research project of personal interest and to develop it for the Expo with the Egagasini Node staff’s guidance, skills sessions and discussion.

My personal involvement has focused on presenting to each school on scientific writing, and together we encouraged discussion among the learners and teachers, focusing on scientific thinking and skills development among the participants.

Eskom mini Expo for Young Scientists

This year’s Eskom mini Expo for Young Scientists in Cape Town was hosted by Pinelands High School on 12 May. The morning was a hub of enthusiastic and albeit nervous participants from schools around Cape Town, each showcasing the progress on their respective research projects.

Original ideas, fascinating discoveries and experiences were shared and discussion among learners and professionals evident across the hall, broadening horizons, enhancing scientific research skills and thinking, and planting the seed of interest, passion and enthusiasm for science in young minds. Projects covered a broad range of topics in physics, life sciences, chemistry, and psychology, amongst others.

This was a day showcasing young minds with great ideas and the potential to achieve great things. This mini expo was also an opportunity to bridge the professional/learner divide and provided students with a chance to receive constructive criticism, and feedback related to their experience and projects. It was an interactive opportunity for learners to meet and interact with learners from other schools and cultures and share their experiences and ideas.

The participants were entertained with a range of bubbling, banging and hair-raising experiments while the judges read through and made notes on the different projects assigned to them for assessment, after which the judges listened to the learners' oral presentations, gave feedback and shared ideas. All learners involved received a certificate of participation and the Eskom Expo team look forward to seeing them again at the main expo held later this year.

Six learners from the schools the Egagasini education programme is actively involved with attended. They commented that the experience opened their eyes to the level of competition and what was expected of them at the national Eskom Expo. They enjoyed the demonstrations and were interested in what other learners were working on for their projects.

International Biodiversity Day

Learners and teachers from the five schools involved in the Egagasini education programme came together at the Sea Point Research Aquarium for International Biodiversity Day on 22 May. The morning’s programme involved open discussion and exposure to marine biodiversity and scientific research, shared by the Egagasini team together with teams from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Two Oceans Aquarium, the SA National Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), City of Cape Town and the SAEON Fynbos Node.

SAEON’s Dr Lara Atkinson opened the proceedings as an enlightening keynote speaker, providing an introduction to marine biodiversity, the good, the bad and why it matters. Her presentation shared with the group definitions of types of biodiversity, threats our oceans are facing and possible solutions. She also highlighted what is known to science and how much remains a mystery to be explored and discovered.

Each representative partner showcased an interactive demonstration/ activity. The Egagasini team’s demonstration included the wonders of the ‘Magic Planet’ and involved students in an identification exercise with different marine organisms. The morning was very informative and inspiring to the learners.

Special thanks go to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the venue and lunch arrangements, and to all those involved in making the day a success.