Stimulating science literacy this holiday season
A Sci-Bono programme to foster a love of science
As the nation stands by to see how the matric class of 2021 fared, the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown, Johannesburg, affirms its commitment to championing science literacy.
The sciences, says chief executive Dr More Chakane, have never been more important. Demand grows globally for people to fill posts in science-centred careers; and the sciences – in all their specialist disciplines – continue to advance our understanding of the world, how we live in it, and how we manage our lives, careers, health and communications systems. “In fact, you name it, and you’ll find that science has a profound role to play in it,” he adds.
The Sci-Bono Discovery Centre has laid on an exciting holiday programme of activities and presentations to foster a love of science.
“We know,” Dr Chakane says, “that informal learning plays a critical role in holistic science education. What happens outside the schoolroom is as important as what happens inside it. The matric exams are seen as the ultimate yardstick of learning. However, it’s in the formative years that youngsters develop an appetite for the sciences. They learn better and quicker and more enthusiastically when they engage practically with science. And this is exactly what our holiday programme is engineered to do.”
Sci-Bono’s Science Explorers Holiday Programme includes hands-on workshops on the physics of rocket science and the chemistry of slime-making. Microbiology comes alive in the special Sci-Bono Germology holiday programme; and the Astonishing Anatomy Science Show opens up the wondrous intricacies of the human body.
Our most precious natural resource – water – is explored in the Waterology workshop. There’s a hands-on kidney dissection workshop and another that investigates the history, art and science of photography. These and other Science Explorers Holiday Programme activities are offered in addition to the resident exhibitions and activities that draw thousands to the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre every year.
“It’s never too late or too early to grow your science literacy,” Dr Chakane says. “We are completely dedicated here to making the sciences accessible, fun and exciting. Our work is focused on turning more and more people onto the sciences and enabling South Africans to understand the impact that science has on our lives. This is a fascinating and very accessible world. It’s worth jumping into, and exploring.”
Find the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown, Johannesburg. For more information on the Science Explorers Holiday Programme, go to www.sci-bono.co.za or to the Sci-Bono Facebook and Twitter profiles.
