Edzon Robyn, 23, our new mobile science centre assistant, is off on a roadtrip this week. He calls the jol ''my first real outing away from Cape Town,'' with the mellow yellow van packed full of chemicals and Detlef Basel at the wheel, moving through the winelands to whale-watching territory.
Of course, Edzon should be used to travelling ridiculously long distances. He lives in Stellenbosch and takes the train to Goodwood station, and then squeezes into a packed taxi to reach the MTN Sciencentre at Century City.
A month or two ago, Edzon was a student at the University of the Western Cape, finishing off his degree, a Bachelor of Science in biotechnology. ''An email from the MTN Sciencentre ended up in my inbox. I just took a chance and now I'm part of the family,'' he says.
Today, Tuesday January 29, Edzon and Detlef were at Breede Rivier High School in Worcester. Outside was a view of the Brandwacht, Overhex and Langeberg mountains that would have had tourists taking photographs. But nobody was looking because Detlef and Edzon were blowing things up, putting on a tweetalige science show for the grades 9 to 12, with roughly 40 children in each classroom.
''Oh, I had a wonderful experience with the children today. It was amazing to see the teachers, the questions they asked. And some classes came back for another round. They were very much eager,'' Edzon reported.
To give you an idea of the distances, the defence attorneys representing Najwa Petersen in her murder trial are applying for bail on the grounds that making her daughter travel hundreds of kilometres to Breede Rivier prison in Worcester is too far. But the MTN Sciencentre people seem to take it in their stride.
By the evening, the dynamic duo were in Robertson, getting ready for Wednesday's series of science performances at Langeberg secondary school.
And if it's Thursday, you'll find them in Hermanus, having a whale of a time. Next week: the West Coast.
