Excitement, enthusiasm and nervousness were written all over the faces of the learners who took part in this year's annual Science Expo. The popular student event took place in Rhodes University’s Eden Grove Complex last week Friday 1 August.
Excitement, enthusiasm and nervousness were written all over the faces of the learners who took part in this year's annual Science Expo. The popular student event took place in Rhodes University’s Eden Grove Complex last week Friday 1 August.
The Eskom Expo for Young Scientists is South Africa’s leading and only existing, national science fair that affords learners the opportunity to enter a project to exhibit their own scientific investigation. The project aims to inspire and develop young scientists who are able to identify a problem, analyse information, find solutions and communicate findings effectively.
More than 60 learners presented projects to teams of judges in the hope of reaching the Eskom Expo for Young Scientist International Science Fair [ISF] in Johannesburg this October.
Tina Ncula, Nombulelo High School Grade 10 learner, told Grocotts Mail how he came up with his project.
“My idea was mostly based on socio-economic challenges that face many people in and around my community like serious abuse of alchohol. After noticing that many people abuse alcohol every day without realising the negative consequences it poses to their health status, I realised that I should come up with this idea that seeks to raise awareness called Liver vs Alcohol.”
Ncula explained the process he took to arrive at his findings that alcohol with high spirit content damages the liver. He used sheep livers to demonstrate the damage alcohol does to human livers. He stored different types of alcohol including home-brewed beer (Umqombothi), gin, brandy and store-bought beer into different containers with small pieces of liver in each.
After a week in storage, the livers came out showing different results. Results of the liver that was put in brandy and gin had a black colour, while home-brewed beer and lager beer came out a light yellow and a light red. He said this shows that alcohol high in spirits severely damages the liver, while alcohol with less spirit does less damage.
From alcohol and livers, to home-made soaps; from how to sanitise using ashes to the aerodynamics of paper planes, learners were determined to be chosen in the top five.
Ten schools participated, and Anja Fourie, Grahamstown Regional Science Fair Director, said she was delighted to have the opportunity to include new schools, such as Kwa-Komani Comprehensive School and Luvuyo Lerumo SSS from Queenstown.
"It’s so important to encourage teachers and learners from all areas of the Eastern Cape to learn about the Eskom Expo,” she said.
There were two gold, eight silver and 15 bronze medals awarded. “The quality of ideas we see coming through, particularly from the junior grades, is impressive,” Fourie said. “There is a lot of awareness of scientific and technological challenges in our communities here in the Eastern Cape. That comes through more and more every year.”
Chantelle Smith, 15, from Victoria Girls High, told Grocott's Mail, "I made 10 different paper planes to find out the aerodynamics of which ones fly faster, and I found that up turned wings and down turned wings are great to use even for the real aeroplanes and if there’s a greater wing span they fly amazingly in the air meaning that with real aeroplanes that would mean they use less fuel”.
When asked if she had any faith that her project will make it to the top five she said it would be nice if her project won so that her parents won’t have to pay lots of money for her when she gets to university. "But it would also mean a lot of work for me which I’m prepared to do."
After the round of judging, the students were treated to a series of workshops and a guided tour around Rhodes University, followed by a quick-fire science quiz to test their knowledge. Fourie explained that the aim is to create an experience that will not easily be forgotten by the learners.
“We are seeing the Eskom Expo participants from previous years going to university and then coming back to judge,” she said.
Danie du Plessis, Eskom senior manager of Transmission in the Eastern Cape, emphasised the need for young South Africans to embrace the wonders of science.
“The main spirit of the Eskom Expo is to get the interest of pupils around the region,” he said. “Eskom, and the country as a whole, has great need for people with technical skills, and we have a social obligation to create an interest in the scientific fields.”
Results:
Victoria Girls:
Once again VG scooped the bulk of awards in the top five projects and participants selected to attend the International Science Expo in Gauteng in October. The results for VG are as follows:
Danielle Walker scooped three awards: First Place and Overall Expo Winner (Gold award), Best project by a Female Participant , Best Environmental Project and to add cherry on top she qualified for the International Science Expo.
Another Victoria Girl who qualified for the International Science Expo was Emma Goodes who came Second place overall after winning a Gold award.
Thimna Sotyato also qualified for the International Science Expo after winning a Silver award.
Other winners from VG include Sumaiya Vawda (Silver award), Sara Goodes (Bronze award), Chantelle Smith (Bronze award), Michaela Chowles (Bronze award) and Meeca Green (Merit award). Danielle Walker and Emma Goodes were also the only two participants who received gold medals this year.
Fantastic prizes are up for grabs at the Regional Final, including five scholarships for the first year of study in the Sciences Faculty at Rhodes University, trophies, medals and book prizes, while prizes at the International Science Fair include selection to represent South Africa at other international science fairs abroad, scholarships, trophies, medals, and other prizes such as books, iReaders, laptops and tablets.
St Andrew’s College:
11 pupils from St Andrew’s College took part in the regional Eskom Science EXPO that was hosted at Rhodes University on Friday the 1st of August. The following boys received awards for their projects:
Graham de Vos – Merit
David Rushmere – Merit
Joshua Warneke – Merit
Dillan Sievwright – Bronze
Christopher Benjamin – Bronze
Rorke Wilson – Bronze
Iain Macpherson – Silver
Iain Macpherson’s project Eco- friendly waterproofing was placed 3rd overall which earned him a Rhodes University Scholarships for First Year Studies in the Sciences and he also received the Eskom Award for the Best Energy Efficiency Project as well as the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Southern Africa (WESSA) Award for the best wildlife and environmental project.
DSG:
Twenty-eight of our Grade 9s attended the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists Regional Final which was held at Rhodes University on Friday 1 August. The girls have worked very hard to produce projects that had to meet a long list of requirements this year, as well as the approval of a very rigorous judging panel. We were restricted to only 15 projects for entry into this year’s final, and so the girls did extremely well to bring home 2 silver, 4 bronze and 9 merit awards:
SILVER AWARD WINNERS
Amy Anderson and Cwayita Bam received silver for their project on Pool Heating.
Claire Squires was awarded silver for her project on Auditory versus Visual Memories.
BRONZE AWARD WINNERS
Alice Godlonton
Gemma MacRobert
Caroline Carey
Cally Davoren
Bailey Dovey
Nichola Quarmby
Maxine Barnes
Sandra Nagel
MERIT AWARD WINNERS
Myfanwy Gess
Kelly Landon
Annie Schaefer
Izzy Kindersley
Pippa Kirsten
Izzy Neuberger
Jess Rushmere
Asia Hickey
Daisy Martin
Willow Gainsford
Julia Stevens
Kirstie Stevenson
Lily Nkosiyane
Tamia Mfazi
Terri Harris
Paula Murray
Emma Van Vuuren
The following girls were also selected to represent EP at the 2014 Eskom Expo International Science Fair to be held in Johannesburg later this year.
Amy Anderson, Cwayita Bam, Caroline Carey, Cally Davoren, Bailey Dovey, Nichola Quarmby, Alice Godlonton, Gemma MacRobert.
Annie Schaefer and Kelly Landon are to be congratulated for receiving a special award from the Grassland Society of Southern Africa for the best grassland or vegetation project. Their project was called ‘The Indomitable Spekboom’.
