Stukkend about National Science Week!

National Science Week kicks off from Saturday May 10 to 17th with lots of free things to do and try.

The MTN Sciencentre here in the Canal Walk shopopolis in Cape Town is throwing open its doors, with free entry all this weekend, from 9 in the morning until 6 pm, Saturday and Sunday. And the offer gets repeated on the following Saturday, May 17 as well.

In addition to the standard favourites like spinning in the gyroscope, the hourly trip to the camera obscura to watch the ever-changing fantastic views of the Cape Town skyline, gross-out dissections of eyeballs, kidneys and fishguts at Lucky's Lab and the daily 2 pm blow-it-up chemistry show with the fabulous Fikiswa Majola (picture above) and the dashing Detlef Basel, there are quite a lot of additional activities.

Consider a free screening of the movie Bushman's Secret, featuring breathtaking footage of the Kalahari landscape, or hang out with the man who was nearly the next president of the USA, Al Gore, as he explains how we're cooking the planet in ''An Inconvenient Truth.''

Or attend ''Not too hot, not too cold,'' a workshop which is a praise poem by Laurie Bowell and company from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to the unique qualities of our home planet.

Or outsmart Lente Mare of Chess for Change with chessboard war, or make your own volcano out of kitchen cupboard ingredients such as vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and food colouring. If you prefer something more active, head off on the hike of nearby Intaka Island wetland.

Late-risers can come in at noon to find out how to use your cellphone to operate a robot with Neels van der Westhuizen from FischerTechnik toys and find what's really inside the Nintendo Wii remote, or compete in the traditional marabara and mankala board games or polish up your paparazzi skills at the digital camera workshop.

Later in the week, there are talks:

* MTN Sciencentre founder Mike Bruton, now with MTE studios, on the funny side of science
* 23-year-old Stellenbosch biochemist Jennifer de Beyer, who's just won a scholarship to study at Oxford University in the UK
* young University of Cape Town microbiologist Tsungai Jongwe, who's sifting through indigenous plants in search of fresh medicines against drug-resistant tuberculosis
* renowned sports scientist Tim Noakes, who says new research indicates that belief in yourself may control whether you come in first, second - or last.

* Local science teachers mark the beginning of national science week with physics researcher Dr Zinhle Buthelezi at a brunch on May 10 at South Africa's only particle physics accelerator, the massive iThemba Laboratories complex off the N2 freeway near the Stellenbosch turnoff. But kids and their parents can come to iThemba's family day next weekend (17th) to celebrate the tail end of the week-long celebration of discovery. Mayhem is expected as the ebullient Steve Sherman of Living Maths joins Libertas choir tenor/physicist Gillian Arendse to present "Mal about Maths & Stukkend for Science". Cost is only R5, but booking is required because of super-strict safety regulations at iThemba. Deal with Ambrose Yaga at 021 843 1000 or 073 7273141.

* There's so much iron in the core of the planet that the Earth is a giant magnet. And that's a good thing for us. Without the magnetic field, we would get crisped by the solar wind. But there are troubling signs of changes in the planet's magnetosphere, which is why scientists at the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory are keeping a close eye on what's happening in this invisible but powerful force. Elisa Fraser of the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory in the Western Cape is also a participant in national science week on 028 312 1196.

* SciFest Africa, which just hosted the MTN Sciencentre at the national science festival in Grahamstown last month, is on the road to Lusikisiki this week for national science week, where Rhodes University students Dube Nyoni, Zandile Makina and James Aitchison will be explaining the biotechnology of umqombothi (traditional sorghum beer) and amarhewu, the popular soured milk drink. For more on national science week in the Eastern Cape, speak to Asanda at SciFest Africa on 046 603 1155 .

So wherever you are, get thinking, get doing. It's national science week, and it only comes once a year!