Abigail Gotlieb

We expect to see more of the Gotlieb family - Abigail, left, younger sister Jessica, and their doctor dad - here at the science centre.

Why? Because Abigail Gotlieb, from Herzlia Senior School, won a gold medal at the Eskom Expo For Young Scientists 2007 national competitions for her investigation into the relationship between breast cancer and Hormone Replace Therapy (HRT).

HRT, according to Wikipedia (today, at any rate) is a system of medical treatment for menopausal women, based on the assumption that it may prevent discomfort and health problems caused by diminished hormones.

The treatment involves a series of drugs designed to artificially boost hormone levels. The main types of hormones involved are estrogens and sometimes testosterone

Sarah Mason

"Pack-a-shack" was the brainchild of grade nine student Sarah Mason from Herschel high school in Claremont - and it's won her a gold medal at the national Expo finals.

Sarah couldn't ignore the dire circumstances of those living in informal settlements off the N2 near Cape Town International Airport. She decided to take action – and came up with an idea that awarded her the first prize in the school's in-house competition. This in turn brought her to the Cape Town finals, when we met her, at the MTN Sciencentre.



The aim of Sarah's "Pack-a-shack" project was to design and package a marketable, affordable, durable and comfortable shack with suitable materials.

During her research, Sarah did all sorts of tests on "mini" shacks, which she manufactured herself.

These tests included making a fire in the shacks to test their flammability, placing them in direct sunlight to test their heat resistance, and submerging them in water to check for water resistance.

"She put in a tremendous amount of work," says teacher Don Gibbon, who was most impressed by her project.

The long hours paid off. Sarah found that the best materials for building a shack were corrugated zinc and Nutech board. These materials were reasonably water and fire resistant, and they provided sufficient insulation against both high and low temperatures.

Simone Abramson

Simone Abramson, a grade ten student from the United Herzlia High School in Cape Town, built on her success earlier this year at the city-wide Eskom Expo at the MTN Sciencentre, recently winning not one but three distinctions:

Simone went away with a national gold medal for her exhibit on a new method for identifying people.

She also won the Eskom Best Female Award at the nationals in Pretoria.

And perhaps best of all, Simone was selected to be a delegate to the Expo Sciences Europe (ESE) in in 2008.

Her teacher, Ron Jones, must be very proud of her. Herzlia, a private Jewish school, is online at www.herzlia.com.