Announcements

Soweto Outreach and Educator Workshop

Wed, 07 Aug 2013 16:46:41 +0200

Soweto the home of South Africa’s first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela, is steeped in history, was the focus of attention for the week starting the 15^th of July 2013. Three schools in Soweto accepted our invitation to participate in the outreach programme. The event was organised and coordinated by Charles Maseko who has made it is mission to inspire children in Soweto, using the grandeur of the night skies.

The programme kicked off in one of Soweto’s oldest suburbs, Dube where the first low cost housing was built for unprivileged communities. Moetapele Primary School is one of the oldest existing schools where 22 Grade four learners participated in the rocket project. The learners were enthusiastic and asked questions pertaining to both rockets and astronomy in general. Mrs Tabitha the Natural Science educator for Grade four commented on the interactive and engaging manner of the presentation. The propulsion of the rockets drew many cheers and sighs alike after lift off.

Mbuyisa Makhubu Primary School is historically placed across the Hector Peterson Memorial, which based on events of June 16^th, 1976. Sixty three learners and their educator competed to launch the highest rockets. Charles Maseko explained to the learners how the rockets works. At the end of the end of activity, the girls attention to detail when creating their paper rockets ensured they won the overall launching competition.

On the 17^th of July an Educator Workshop was held at the Meadowlands Public Library. Seven educators from three public schools attended the workshop. The workshop covered topics which is part of the Earth and Beyond curriculum. These topics ranged from creating a 3D model of the Earth to the searching for planets. Materials from the Universe in the Box were used at the workshop. Educators provided feedback and two educators were interviewed, regarding their perception of the workshop.

Thakhisa Primary School was the last school in the in the roll out of EUNAWE in Soweto. Due the low learner numbers per grade, all of the grades from grade 4 to 7 participated in the rocket project. Learners in grades six and seven discussed the mechanism of rockets and rocket launching, especially pop or air rockets. Whilst in grades five and four aspects of astronomy were linked to rocket launching.

Charles Maseko will continue to spearhead the EUNAWE campaign in Soweto, ensuring that both learners and educators have an opportunity to expand their astronomy knowledge.

Somerset Library Programme

Wed, 07 Aug 2013 15:58:52 +0200

EUNAWE was invited by the Somerset West Library on the 24^th
of June 2013, to participate in their Winter Holiday Programme. This was part
of the initiative to introduce astronomy to young children through story
telling. It is a one hour programme, which is designed to meet the age groups
of the children.

Although it was a bitterly cold winter morning of young
children accompanied by their parents and grandparents attended the event. The
programme started with the story about The Moon, The Hare and The Tortoise. A
famous indigenous story from Southern Africa. A set of 4 visual aids were used
to tell the story, which kept the children captivated. Due to the children
being young, the activities were simple and easy to engage in, which both the
children and the parents or grandparents found interesting .

The children engaged in a “moon walk” activity to encourage
creative thinking and also to tap on their pre knowledge of the moon. This
information was transferred into a form of a drawing which they took home with
them. This was followed by creating moon craters which is always a hit with the
children. The combination of coco, flour and seeing the dust rise out of it
when a huge crater if formed, immediately draws many hand claps and the
eagerness to create more. Learners then when on to create 4 moon phases on a
cardboard plate.

The library programme affords both children and their
parents the opportunity to learn interesting
astronomical facts through stories and activities. This is usually
followed by parents using the library to source books about the key concept to
further enhance the knowledge of their children and themselves.

UNIVERSE IN THE BOX

Wed, 07 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0200

EUNAWE SCIENCE CENTRE COLLABRATIONS

GAUTENG AND NORTH WEST PROVINCE

The Sci Bono Centre in Newtown Johannesburg is currently piloting the Universe in the Box Project on behalf of EUNAWE. Michael Ellis was keen from the inception to develop a working relationship with EUNAWE and host projects.

The training took place on the 18^th of July. Twenty trainers from the science centre participated in the training. The session began with a brief outline of the project and the reason behind the piloting of the project. The centre works very closely with the Gauteng Education Department and also has programmes such has ECD Week and a Foundation Phase Week. This is very much in line with the target groups of the EUNAWE Project. The Science Centre is the ideal place for the testing of the box because the scope of learners that visit the centre range and thus the trainers will be able to clearly identify activities that work best in the SA context and offer recommendations to suit the SA environment.

The training focused on the planets, constellations and moon phases. Trainers had the opportunity to work with the material and discuss ways it can be used at the Science Centre. It also gave the trainers an opportunity to test their basic astronomy knowledge. The box will be trailed at the centre for 3 months and feedback will be given directly back to International Office. Charles Maseko offered support during the training. He also fielded questions asked by the trainers.

The North West University Science Centre will be embarking on EUNAWE activities in the next term. This is an opportune time, since the Grade Four learners will be focusing on the astronomy aspect of the CAPS Curriculum, which is Earth and Beyond. Two Pop Rocket launchers were and a host of other learning materials were donated to the Science Centre. Papi Lekwene a MSC student who is currently doing a project on Stellar Astrophysics was trained on the how to conduct an astronomy workshop for Grade Four educators . Two of colleagues also joined the training session and discussions were held on how the materials used at the educator workshop could be used at the Science Centre to teach young children about astronomy.

It is hoped that EUNAWE will continue to develop further projects with other Science Centres in South Africa.

SCOPE X 2013

Wed, 07 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0200

SCOPE X 2013

Johannesburg

SCOPE X was held on the 20^th of July 2013 at the Old Military Museum in Johannesburg. Lerika Cross the events organiser, invited EUNAWE to participate for the second conservative year. This year three members of the Voortrekker Club were allocated to assist with the implementation of the activity. One hour prior to the event taking place the members were trained on how to conduct the activity.

One hundred and nine high school learners from different suburbs in Gauteng were bussed to SCOPE X from the Sci Bono Centre. The learners varied from 16 to 18 years of age who are currently doing Pure Maths and Science at their schools. Due to the nature of the EUNAWE project, the pop rockets had to be adapted to suit the age group of the learners. The activity began with a discussion about Newton’s Third Law of Motion, with action their is an equal and opposite reaction. The learners thereafter broke into groups of 10 and discussed the properties of rockets and especially air rockets.

Each group was allocated a Voortrekker Club member who demonstrated the activity before they began. The learners had an opportunity to created their own paper rockets and launch them. Learners went on to experiment by combining multiple rockets to see how high the rockets would launch. They also launched 2 rockets simultaneously by jumping on 2 bottles.

Willie Koorts the developer of the pop rocket, who was a guest speaker at the show, also made himself available to chat and discuss the properties of rockets. Learners had the opportunity to ask him questions and he guided them to websites and books they could use to create their own rockets.

Once the groups from the Sci Bono Centre were completed with the activity, members of the public were invited to participate. Many of the young children could not resist the chance to jump on the 2L bottles at every opportunity. The warm Highveld weather formed the perfect setting for the launching of rockets for both the young and the old.

MAKIFENG OUTREACH

Wed, 07 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0200

MAFIKENG OUTREACH

The Science Centre at the North West University invited EUNAWE to host learner and educator workshops, the week starting 22-07-2013. Ms Sameeng Seena the Natural Science and Technology Curriculum Advisor for the North West Education Department coordinated the events for the week. The plan of action was to visit 4 schools and host an Educator Workshop.

Sol Plaatjies was the first school visited. There were a hundred and fifty nine learners practiced the art of pop rocket making. Ms Sameeng Seena enthusiastically assisted the learners in launching of the rockets and gave clear instructions on how it should be done. The learners were most eager to learn how to create a pop rocket in their homes, using the same materials excluding the rocket launcher. I demonstrated using a 2L bottle, a pvc pipe and the paper rocket. An alternative to the pvc pipe would be a hose pipe.

St Mary Primary school is situated in the outskirts of Mafikeng. Sixty nine learners in grade four were eager demonstrate their rocket skills. The Natural Science educators were so impressed with the rocket launcher that they are planning on building their own model for learners at the schools. For many learners it was the first time they had the opportunity to do a practical activity linked to astronomy.

EUNAWE had the pleasure of hosting Professor Thebe Medupe at Ipeleng Primary. The learners had the privilege of having a planets lesson presented by Professor Medupe prior to their pop rocket lesson. It was clear from interacting with the learners, that they had a solid knowledge of astronomy.

The final outreach event for the week, ended at Bodiri Primary. Fifty two learner gathered at the school hall with their Natural Science educators. Learners learnt about Sir Isaac’s Newton, Third Law using a balloon. This school attracts learners from the town and the surrounding villages. Ms Sameeng Seena encouraged to create their own rockets in the next term.

Finally the Educator workshop was held at D.P Kgoleng Primary. Ms Seena invited 56 of her schools to the workshop. The workshop was hosted by Papi Lekwene a MSC student at North West University, who is currently doing a project on Stellar Astrophysics. He also volunteers at the Science Centre at the NWU and a student of Professor Medupe. The workshop conducted was based on the CAPS Curriculum for Grade Four’s on Earth and Beyond. The educators were shown practical ways to teach various aspects of astronomy, which is an important assessment component.

NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK

Wed, 07 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0200

NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK OUREACH

KHAYALETISHA

EARTH AND BEYOND

National Science Week rolled out in Khayaletisha on the 29^th of July 2013. Five schools were invited to participate in the programme for the week, which will culminate in an Educator Workshop on the 2-08-2013.The schools were requested to invite twenty learners and their Natural Science Educator from a neighbouring school to attend the learner outreach for the day. The aim of the event was to was to increase astronomy awareness in the schools and promote the establishment of Science Clubs for learners. The coordination of the project was carried out with the assistance of Mrs Zodwa of Lwandle Primary School. Learners and educators also had the opportunity to listen to various guest speakers from different departments at the SAAO, speaking about their careers and also encouraging learners to pay more attention to their studies and improve the quality of their Maths and Science results. Learners had an opportunity to ask questions after every talks.

Dr Nicola Loaring kicked off the career talks for the week. Her talk was on the Solar System and the developing astronomy industry in South Africa. She encouraged learners to think about careers that would lead them to contribute to the growing astronomy industry. However many of the learners were keen to find out, what were the requirements for becoming an astronaut and how rockets work. Dougie Melcalf from the Engineering Department addressed learners at Hopolang Primary brought a wide range of scientific instruments for the learners to see and touch. Learners had a opportunity to learn how Engineers used drawings to create scientific instruments used in space science. Learners also had the opportunity to ask Dougie, how some of the instruments were used in various scientific fields. Sivuyile Manoxyi the Manager of SCBP at SAAO, addressed learners at Yomelela Primary. The presentation was done in isiXhosa and Sivuyile brought an energy to the learners which, the learners fed off and participated with the same eagerness. Sivuyile gave learners a brief history of the Observatory and explained to learners the type of work done at there. He thereafter went on to explain key astronomical concepts. The learners were so enthralled with the information, that the career talk time slot ran into overtime. With a result Sivuyile will be revisiting the school next week Monday to inspire our budding scientists, astronomers and engineers. Willie Koorts headed of to Ntwashlobe Primary. Willie explained to learners that there are a number of engineering fields that one can branch into and gave a brief description of each one. This was followed by the type of engineering he is involved in. He also brought along a number of mechanisms and pictures to show the show learners . Using a laser and different types of optic cables, Willie and an assistant learner demonstrated on it works. Both the learners and the educators were captivated by the demonstration. At the end of the talk, the learners were extremely interested in how telescopes operated and an astronomy linked question about moon phases. Willie was able to answer both these questions with the utmost ease. Friday marked the end of the learner outreach in Khayaletisha and Hamish Whittal addressed learners at Homba Primary with a extremely interactive software programme talk. The learners eagerly engaged with Hamish in all aspects of the talk . He also brought a personal element to the talk, by bringing along his first computer which was bought with when he was 11years old.

The week was designed to engage learners in astronomy related activities linked to the National CAPS Curriculum in term four. Learners participated in 3 tasks for the day. They explored the Solar System, identifying key features of planets, made a moon find viewer and simple Mars Rover Lander using a balloon and template. These activities were structured around the school timetable, which ensured that learners were occupied for the entire day.

The Solar Search was designed by the Voortrekker Club and was used by Science Club learners at an outreach event in March at the Observatory. The activities begin with a discussion about the solar system and naming of planets including discussing their features. The learners work in pairs and completed the solar search. This was followed by identifying the moon phases and how the moon orbits around the earth using the Earth ball and white ball to represent the moon. Learners created a moon finder, which they can use to identify the 8 phases of the moon in the southern hemisphere. The last activity was creating a Mars Rover Lander. Firstly learners needed to understand the objective of Mars Rover being sent to space. The Mars Rover were used to collect information about the surface of Mars and whether there are living s things on any other planets.

For the second consecutive year the National Curriculum Advisor of the Western Cape Education Department Ms Suanne Rampou, has supported EUNAWE National Science Week initiatives by participating in the plans events. NSW is a stepping stone for greater collaborations between EUNAWE and WCED.

UNIVERSE IN THE BOX

Wed, 07 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0200

NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK EDUCATOR WORKSHOP

EUNAWE/OAD COLLABRATION

UNIVERSE IN THE BOX

On the 3^rd of August 2013 eight educators and the National Curriculum Advisor from the Western Cape Education Department attended the Universe In the Box Workshop. The box is an international project piloted in countries around the world. It contains several practical tools used in the teaching of astronomy.This workshop is a follow on from SciFest Universe in the Box workshop organised by SAASTA.

The aim of the this workshop was to train educators on how to use the different astronomy tools and to give the educators an opportunity to pilot the box from September to December at their schools. The workshop was led by PHD student Eli Kasai, who is an intern at the OAD Office. Eli is working on replicating the box in South Africa. Material and activities developed for workshop, were linked to the teaching of Earth and Beyond from grade four to grade six. The key focus areas were day and night, seasons, moon phases and planets. Eli gave practical demonstrations for each of the main concepts and provided educators with additional background information for those concepts. Educators had an opportunity to ask questions related to the teaching of astronomy in the classroom during the session.

All of the educators, including the Suanne Rampou the National Curriculum Advisor agreed that this is a wonderful tool to use in their classrooms. It will enable learners to engage in hands on activities, and develop a better understanding of astronomical concepts. Thus it is hoped that this will lead to a generation of astronomers, scientists, engineers particularly among female learners.

EUNAWE/PSP Foundation Phase Workshop

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0200

EUNAWE/PSP WORKSHOP

FOUNDATION PHASE

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS

Date: 6-06-2013

Topic: Solar System

Has part of ensuring that the sustainability of the EUNAWE Project in the Western Cape, I have partnered with the PSP Foundation Phase team to hold joint workshops.

Master educators from the Foundation Phase were invited to attend this workshop and would be responsible for retraining the educators at their schools. There were 42 Master educators present, including the Southern District Foundation Phase Curriculum Advisor.

The focus of the EUNAWE workshop was the Solar System which
is part of the Grade 3 Life Skills Curriculum in the third term. Educators were given a Solar System Search worksheet, a strip of newspaper and a template of the Sun. Educators had to identify charactertics of the planets, with key words given. They then went on to colour the planets and add distinguishing features like a red dot on Jupiter.

Educators cut out an each planet and placed them the correct sequence on the newspaper band. I advised educators to have their learners colour in the newspaper strip first to ensure they are not distracted by the background print. This strip can be pasted on their learners desks, for a point of reference when they doing the solar system.

The final task was to create a mnemonic to assist the learners remember the sequence of the planets. The workshop was well received and the Curriculum Advisor suggested that schools in the southern districts contact me in the third term for school visits and the focus will be on the Grade 3 curriculum.

University of Kwa-Zulu Natal & EUANWE Outreach Event

Thu, 30 May 2013 16:04:43 +0200

The outreach event was a collaboration between the UKZN Astrophysics and Cosmology department
and EUNAWE. Four schools were visited and one educator workshop was held. The focus of the week was Rockets, which is linked to the National Science and Technology Curriculum in Grade four.

Learner workshops focused on what they would discover in our universe, when rockets were launched. Learners spoke about the stars, moon, galaxies and the sun. Simple facts and information was shared with the learners which was relevant to their curriculum. Learners thereafter made a paper rocket and launched the rocket using the POP Rocket launcher. Learners were eager to learn about Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion and see it in practice when launching their rockets.

One two hour Educator workshop was help covering all aspects of the Earth and Beyond curriculum in Grade Four. Educators engaged in a hands on workshop, in which I demonstrated to them different practical activities which they can use in their classrooms or extension activities. Dr Abyi Tekola was suppose to host a 30 minute Skype Telescope session, however due to bad weather it had to be cancelled.

On the 24^th of May an outreach night was held, to provide learners not reached during the KZN outreach to engage in a pop rocket activity. This was poorly attended, with only 3 learners turning up from
Crawford Primary in La Lucia. However the learners had great fun, positioning the rocket at different angles to investigate the height and distance the rocket will travel.

Prashina Kallideen the PRO and Outreach Officer from the UKZN Astrophysics and Cosmology Department will continue with EUNAWE outreach during the course of the year.

Voortrekker Club Outreach Programme

Thu, 30 May 2013 14:44:42 +0200

Seventy five learners from the Voortrekker Club participated in an over night astronomical camp at the South African Astronomical Observatory. Has part of their outreach initiative the club invited grade 4 learners and one educator from Lwandla Primary in Khayalethisa to participate in a binoculars and solar system drawing activity.

Willie Koorts an enthusiastic amateur the main organiser of the event and his team of parents and volunteers guided the learners in the drawing of the solar system and demonstrated how to build a pair of binoculars work. Learners thereafter had a guided tour of the Observatory learning about its history and how of the McClean Telescope operates.