Students and visitors have left our town, the posters have come down and the hustle and bustle at the Monument has become a faint memory.
Students and visitors have left our town, the posters have come down and the hustle and bustle at the Monument has become a faint memory.
Scifest Africa has drawn to a close and we are left to reflect on yet another successful year.
Scifest Africa, which started in 1997, has enjoyed 16 years of prosperity and has left scholars and adults alike marvelling at the wonders of science.
If you missed out on this year’s event, you have no need to despair, as Scifest Africa has confirmed that they have received three more years of funding.
Scifest aims to show the importance of science and urges scholars to become excited about a field of study which has the ability to change the way we live.
This year, over 600 events catered for a large range of people. The list of guest lecturers was impressive, and ranged from rhino poaching, engineering in medicine, and NASA’s first trip to Pluto, to nanotechnology.
This year, Scifest also hosted the first Famelab competition.
Here nine finalists from across South Africa had three minutes to explain a scientific concept to school learners, using everyday items in front of a packed Guy Butler Theatre.
Michelle Knights from Cape Town was the winner and walked away with R10 000.
She will go on to compete in the international leg of the competition to be held in the UK in June. The annual laser show, one of the most loved events at Scifest, was a huge success yet again.
This year’s organisers had to get creative and graphics had to be updated, as a change in sponsors prompted the production of new imagery and lighting techniques.
“I’ll definitely bring my students again next year. They went crazy over the laser show,” said Lynn Thompson, a student teacher from Port Elizabeth.
Unfortunately, water outages during the last three days marred the festival, and some visitors were overheard moaning, and saying they would not be returning to Grahamstown.
We can only hope that those who missed out will wake up earlier next year and get involved in such a prestigious, educational and fun-filled event.
