The Richtersveld Science Week continued today as the team
travelled to the Johan Hein lower grade school in Kuboes. Here the learners are
currently busy with their end of year exams and will be writing Astronomy and
Geography soon. With this, a special lecture and crash course by Conrad
Groenewald (the unofficial Burgermeester in many parts of South Africa) was
exactly what the learners needed! Kuboes is particularly isolated with the
community relying almost entirely on tourism (Richtersveld National Park),
farming (small-scale nomadic sheep and goat farming) and mining (alluvial
diamond mining). Being this isolated, the school and learners were extremely
appreciative and welcomed the team (with participants from all over South
Africa) warmly as nearly a hundred learners packed the school meeting room.
Children from grade 4-7 were all enthralled and actively participated in the
very hands-on approach by Conrad.
Conrad explaining the universe to the learners of Johan Hein school, Kuboes. Some of the kids weren't easily persuaded and didn't mind challenging Conrad! A great Science Day!
The lecture began with an overview of the Earth and it’s
interaction with the sun and the moon. Thereafter the learners were taught how
to remember all the planets, in Afrikaans:
Meneer Van As, My Jas Sal U Nie Pas! (Let’s see if you can
translate that!)
With a solid backing on the stars, planets and universe, the
talk shifted to the Earth and covered various topics on geology, geomorphology
and geography. Incredibly, Conrad managed to squeeze all these topics into a
short period of 90 minutes and kept the children entirely entertained the whole
way through. The children were also allowed to ask questions, some of which
almost managed to stump the team! Quite a surprise; and proving that brilliant
minds come in all forms and in all locations.
After the lecture, the team interacted and spent some time
with the children. The kids were especially interested to meet fellow South
Africans from as far afield as Venda, a meeting that neither party will easily
forget. Simple interactions like these allows us a chance to look back upon our
own lives and makes us realise that there’s so much out there. So much to
explore, experience, and give back. Even the most simplest of gestures can make
a wonderful difference.
The Richtersveld Science Week will go down as a major
success. If we were able to ignite curiosity in just one of the young minds in
Eksteenfontein and Kuboes, then the team of this year can feel extremely proud.
Future plans will now be to try and build from here and expand the Richtersveld
Science Week 2015 into a grand science affair! If you have any ideas,
suggestions or contributions, do let us know! It will be greatly appreciated!
No comments:
Post a Comment