May 4, 2005
By Anish Abraham
MORE youngsters need to opt for maths and science as their subjects of choice if Joburg is to keep up with the fast pace of modern technology. To persuade them to do so, the City's libraries launched the Psyched for Science Programme, on from 4 May to 6 May.
At the launch, City officials, representatives from Johannesburg's Library and Information Services and the staff at the Sci-Bono centre were given a preview of things to come.
Guests were shown models made by pupils from around the city - the winning entries of a Library and Information Services competition held in March, in which each participant had to build a model explaining an existing physical law or a new invention.
The competition was the first leg in the Joburg Libraries Psyched for Science Programme. Miniature coal-fired power stations, a car that runs on electricity, a lawnmower, mini hot-air balloons and homemade train sets were all entered into the competition.
The second leg of the programme involves bussing 500 school children to attend workshops at the Sci Bono Discovery Centre between 4 and 6 May.
Tsakane Shiburi, the regional manager of library and information services for Region 10, said the programme aimed to highlight science and technology to children, not only in Joburg, but in other cities too. "This is where children can come and experience science."
Making learning come alive
Councillor Christine Walters, mayoral committee member for community development, roads and parks, hosted the launch of the Psyched for Science Programme and commended staff at the Sci-Bono centre for their efforts.
"We appreciate the partnership between the City of Johannesburg Library and Information Services and Sci-Bono and have to work together to encourage many children to visit the centre," she said.
Petrus Steyn and Mpho Thui, two science communicators, roped in one of the guests at the launch to give a demonstration of air pressure. "Unless children can come up and interact, science is not much fun," Steyn explained.
Children at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre are encouraged to interact with the various experiments, while the centre's staff of science communicators only get involved when children have queries or want a detailed explanation of how a particular experiment worked.
Discovery centres use innovative methods to encourage young people to take an interest in the sciences, relying on interactive models, exhibits, demonstrations and visually enticing displays that allow students to see how maths and science can be applied to daily life.
Picking up on the interactive nature of learning, deputy director of library and information services for Region 10, Atilla Lourens, said libraries must change their role from simply housing books to "actually to making information come alive".
However, to benefit fully from such programmes, rural areas also had to be targeted, she added.
The Joburg 2030 strategy, which plots the City's development over the next two decades, focuses on safety and security and skills development. Walters said the City was committing itself to skills development by engaging in such projects. Putting it into perspective, she said that about 20 percent of jobs in the city could not be filled because of the skills gap.
Children should take up maths and science because the country had a lot to contribute in the two fields. Walters pointed out that the smelting of metals at sites such as Melville Koppies proved that the city's earliest inhabitants used science - before colonisation.
In closing, Tolakele Makalima, the regional manager of library and information services for Region 6, said as much as possible must be learned from hosting the current science programme so that the quality of the programme would increase year after year.
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