Scifest Africa prides itself on always having a vast spectrum of exhibitions and exhibitors across all scientific domains; and this year is a 15th anniversary exhibition extravaganza running from the 4th to the 10th of May!
Scifest Africa prides itself on always having a vast spectrum of exhibitions and exhibitors across all scientific domains; and this year is a 15th anniversary exhibition extravaganza running from the 4th to the 10th of May!
One of Scifest Africa’s seminal experiences for all visitors is a fabulous leisurely stroll from exhibition to exhibition – watching, experiencing, talking, learning and broadening your perspective. And this year that stroll will take you past representatives from every field of science, in an exhibition extravaganza that is thirteen pages long in the festival programme, with an average of six exhibitors per page. You do the maths!
Beyond their quantity however, what is most significant about all the exhibitors is that they have precision-tailored their offering for Scifest Africa – with particular focus on awakening an interest in science and scientific careers, by unveiling the magnificent diversity of fields and applications that exist. More than exhibitions, they have created perfect as knowledge-transfer facilitation spaces, where learners, students and adults alike can truly connect with people, information and material that broadens and deepens their knowledge in the most engaging possible way!
These exhibitions are also living embodiments of the Scifest Africa 2011 theme of “Science Across Cultures” – because they not only profile the expansive science skills base in our own country, while encouraging its growth – but also showcase incredible global research collaborations between South Africa and other countries! Indeed, with this being the International Year of Chemistry, such trans-national collaborations take on particular significance and the Scifest exhibition programme presents a perfect opportunity to highlight them!
Ultimately, the list of exhibitors this year is as diverse as the fields of scientific pursuits themselves; and include, the 6th Science Centre World Congress, the Academy of Science of South Africa, the Arcelor Mittal Science Centre, Bayworld, the Beijing Development Center of Popular Science, Brombacher & Associates, the Council for the Built Environment, ESKOM, the CSIR, the Departments of Water Affairs and Science & Technology, Grahamstown’s very own Albany Museums, Esri South Africa, Fischertechnik SA, the FOSST Discovery Centre, Gautrain, Hen’s Idea, the International Library of African Music, Iziko Museums of Cape Town, the Medical Research Council, the National Research Foundation (NRF) and various of its sub-silos, Old Mutual, SASOL, Oxford University Press, the Plastics Federation of South Africa, Roswika Media, Johannesburg’s Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, the South African Weather Service, the South African National Space Agency, Square Kilometer Array, the South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre, Working for Water, the country’s top universities and many others!
The topics covered are equally diverse and endlessly fascinating – ranging from space science and technology, to indigenous weather knowledge, infrastructural development, , SA and French prehistory, biodiversity, the SALT telescope, transcending cultures through science, the quest for science in South Africa, number sense, flexible construction systems, simplifying geography through GIS software, integrated electricity demand management, growing trees, future innovations, monitoring change in environments, nanotechnology, biotechnology, researching new frontiers, the science of stars, dealing with invasive alien species, the plethora of career opportunities in the vast spectrum of science, rapid rail commuting and a whole host more!,
