Kids celebrate science
FOURWAYS – Learners at Junior College Gardens, explore their scientistic talents at Science Expo.
Budding scientists got a fun day with their classmates recently when science came to the children of Junior College Gardens.
The school, located in Fourways Gardens, hosted its annual Science Expo for the Grade 00s on 19 August. The 14 children in the class, aged either four or five years old, were asked to bring simple equipment to campus on the day in order to demonstrate an interesting science experiment to their classmates, as well as the parents who attended the day.
The event was planned to inspire learning and curiosity in their young minds, and each child had to explain who they were and what they were doing during the presentation. “This is something we do every year,” explained Irene Friedericksen, the teacher behind the project. “We wanted the children to bring in an experiment that they could do on their own and which would be interesting to their peers. They were so excited to participate and this was really an occasion to celebrate science.”
For readers remembering their own childhood experiments, the volcano demonstration using bicarbonate soda and vinegar was already shown to children during previous lessons and was not allowed to be done again on the day.
“We wanted diverse experiments that were original. It was also a chance for children to practise presenting to others, and to encourage curiosity.”
The children presented a range of experiments, including a demonstration from Aidan Crouch on how to make ‘elephant toothpaste’ using hydrogen peroxide, one from Schemicah Devalogan which proved that magnets only attract items made from metal and another from Shanad Sethole which proved that fire needs oxygen to burn. The expo was lots of fun for attendees. “It was wonderful to see how confident the children were as they learned something new,” said Christelle Wolmarans from ADvTech, who was invited to the expo. “Science is something we come across every day, and it’s lovely to see little ones taking away knowledge about the world.”
After all the presentations were finished, the young Einsteins were each awarded a certificate and a medal for their hard work.
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