Scifest rocks! – Grocott's Mail

South Africa's National Science Festival rocketed off to a busy start on Wednesday, with schools from far and wide uniting once again to celebrate science. The theme for this year's festivities is SciFest Rocks! with added emphasis on the geological, palaeontological and archaeological heritage of our country.

Festival-goers can choose from a huge selection of lectures, workshops, talkshops and exhibitions which all focus on these spheres of research, from the study of skulls right through to the famous coelacanth. Some of these include the Treasures of the Earth and Fossils workshops, dealing intimately with geology and palaeontology respectively.

On top of that, the Kids' Dig in the Albany History Museum Foyer allows children to dig up their own fossils and artefacts, which will slowly reveal Grahamstown's past. One of the highlights of this year's focus is the Petroleum Agency SA exhibit, which focuses on the basics of geology. Petroleum geologist Nehemiah Dominick says the children are enthusiastic and excitable, and take a great interest in the rocks on display.

We teach them the three basic rock types in South Africa, and then we show them that geology can be a career too, Dominick said. Its not all about digging in the dirt, though, as SciFest plays host to a large number of other categories too. Students can interest themselves in a variety of fun-filled workshops including the popular Wonders of light and lasers and the entertaining Madlab.

If you are more attracted to the over-18 stuff, there is even a scientific Wine-tasting this evening. With two eventful days down, SciFest is looking forward to a weekend which will see the final of the Afrobot Robotics Tournament and the Soap-Box Derby, before ensuring that the last couple of days run smoothly. So far… SciFest rocks!