Science Festival Africa 2009 - Day 2

Day 2 - The Stall

Day 2 was a much busier day up at the 1820 Settlers Monument where the stall is situated. Many more school groups were around than on Day 1 and there were more workshops in the main venue.

The stall activities began with a visit from a number of Graeme College teachers who promised to spread the word about the project. Things picked up steadily from there. We were busy almost constantly and highlights included:

• head of science education in Namibia stopping by and actually taking our survey
• agreement with SA Weather Service to follow up the possibility of putting educational resources they have developed on Connexions (we are really looking forward to this possibility)
• discussion with representatives of the Rhodes Pharmacy Department about the inclusion of their material on Connexions (another great opportunity to feed quality resources into Connexions)
• a discussion with Carolina Ödman about incorporating UNAWE content on Connexions (the material is focused on getting young learners excited about astronomy before stereotypes about science get imposed)
• an official invitation to participate in Science Week in May in the

Day 2 - The Workshop
I didn’t have an opportunity to visit the workshop venue at all today but three successful workshops were held. Each workshop had a very different flavour to it and the team adapted accordingly.

One particular surprise was that the first workshop of the day was “invaded” by learners but the team decided to roll with it and demonstrate the site nonetheless. It turns out that the learners really liked the bite-sized chunks citing them as more refreshing and interesting than their “big, boring textbooks”.

The second workshop was held in isiXhosa which actually helped everyone feel more comfortable as the presenters and participants were using their home language.

The final workshop highlighted the disparity that needs to be overcome with participants more than familiar with computers and some with no experience at all. Our online survey and workshop represented the first computer use for one participant. The team managed to complete the workshop and manage the diverse audience at the same time.

On the whole it was a great day for partnerships and for the training team to test their adaptability, all great preparation for a great 2009 for Siyavula.