EUNAWE was invited by the Somerset West Library on the 24th
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.
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