Primary Colours

Children are natural-born scientists. This is something to be encouraged. And so we do! And it seems to be working.

On the morning of Monday, October 8, 2007, the MTN Sciencentre was visited by 120 grade five students from Beaumont Primary at the base of the Helderberg mountains in Somerset West (34°4'12"S 18°50'23"E), led by grade five teacher Mr De Wet Kotze. (The school is visible from Google maps of satellite imagery online at http://wikimapia.org/765885/) This was Mr Kotze's first visit and he found 'very interesting, the things were done very well, and it was entirely appropriate for the level of the students.'

Then on Tuesday, because of sponsorship from the Department of Science and Technology (or to put it another way, thank you to the South African taxpayer!), we were able to host learners from Manenberg Primary. The school can be found on the corner of Kei Street and Kasouga Road in the Manenberg section of Athlone on the Cape Flats. This trip was organised by teacher Mr Basil Janson, who is trying to provide alternatives to gangsterism for his students.

And on Thursday morning, for the first time, we host close to 100 grade four children from Vukani Primary on Singolamthi Road in Philippi East. This school is in Lower Crossroads, a part of Cape Town suffering from high unemployment. The school group is being led by teacher Mr Babalwa Dudumashe, who had never been to the science centre - or indeed any science centre - before this week.

Mr Dudumashe teaches just about everything under the sun except science, and said he heard about the MTN Sciencentre through word of mouth, from a teacher friend who went and recommended it. ''Because many the parents don't work, we have to work extra hard to equip the students with life skills,'' he explained. Tragically, one of his pupils was a victim of the spate of child rape and murders which have been plaguing the Western Cape: ten-year-old Usande Dabula was a Grade 4 student at Vukani Primary School when her body was found half-naked in a field in Symphony Road in Philippi East.

MTN Sciencentre salutes teachers like Mr Dudumashe, Mr Kotze and Mr Janson, who go the extra kilometer for their students, despite difficult conditions.