SCOPE X 2013
Johannesburg
SCOPE X was held on the 20th 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.
Share:
