DSP Jahrbuch 2016

SCIENCE WEEK
Science Week 2016 was an idea that started last year and that
developed into a two week project of extraordinary proportions.
Lasting two full school weeks, with nearly 2000 students from
grade 1 to grade 11, over 33 multi-national companies and involving
two schools and all their teachers, Science Week 2016 has been a
huge success. Taking place at the Deutsche Internationale Schule
Pretoria and the Deutsche Internationale Schule Johannesburg in
September, the Science Week took learners out of their normal textbook
school environment and immersed them in a week of projects,
demonstrations and experiments. It gave learners the opportunity
of exploring new ideas, interacting with industries with which they
had never had contact, and enabled them to experiment with new
technologies.
Science Week 2016 was not limited to learners at the DSP and
the DSJ, but over 400 learners from Mamelodi and Soweto were
invited to take part in the event. One of the aims of the project
was to get as large an outreach as possible to local disadvantaged
schools and pupils in the local areas. This was vital to the project
as it enabled companies to interact with learners from many
different backgrounds and to see, at grassroots level, what learners
need in order to move forward with their education in science and
technology.
Thanks to companies such as Bosch, ABB, Siemens, Evonik, Strub,
CSIR, Hytec, SANSA, JEFA, NISSAN, BMW, VUT and many more,
learners were able to gain a better understanding of the different
industries with specialists in their fields. Additionally, they were able
to have discussions that would normally only take place once they
were in the work place. Learners also had the opportunity of visiting
companies such as CSIR, Hytec and ABB to gain further insights into
how the companies work. The projects ranged from building solar
cars and larger go- carts, to learning how liquid nitrogen works
and how to make liquid nitrogen ice cream. They were able to print
out 3D models that they had designed, experiment with different
chemicals, touch reptiles and animals that they would never usually
have access to, learn about solar energy, build and design bridges
out of lego, robotics demonstrations, visual surveillance, renewable
energy, plastic chemistry, CAD design, virtual reality 3D printing,
flying drones, and much much more.
Science Week 2016 hopes not only to awaken an interest in
science and technology, but to develop a long lasting appreciation
and passion which will go far beyond the two weeks of fun and
interaction that we had and to show that science and technology
are immeasurably interlinked with our world and our lives and that
everyone can make a difference.
Anne Waldek-Thill
112 DSP Jahrbuch 2016