The past meets the present
BRAAMFONTEIN – Something fun and educational for the children to do during the holidays.
Wits University will host an exhibition to celebrate the 100th birthday of one of its schools.
The year 1919 was the year Bentley Motors was founded in England, Dutch airline KLM was formed and the year that the University of Witwatersrand founded its School of Anatomical Sciences. To celebrate the school’s 100th birthday, the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits University will host an exhibition at Maropeng Visitor Centre until 5 October in honour of the school’s centenary celebrations.
The School of Anatomical Science has a long and deep history in palaeoanthropology (branch of anthropology concerned with fossil hominids), from housing important fossil material to grooming some of the prolific experts in palaeoanthropology. Thus, it is appropriate that in celebration of 100 years of excellence, the past meets the present at Maropeng Visitor Centre at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
The objective of the exhibition is academic outreach. The school aims to engage and interact with the public on all facets of anatomy. Dr. Brendon Billings, a lecturer at the school said, “We are specifically excited to interact with the youth that will be visiting Maropeng and we have quite a few fun-filled activities demonstrating the variety of research endeavours the school is currently involved in. The exhibition enables prospective young anatomists to learn about possible careers in this broad field.”
The study of anatomy is linked to a plethora of academic fields such as medicine, paleoanthropology, forensic anthropology, medical cell biology, clinical anatomy, embryology, neuroscience and more. Many important research projects have been undertaken by both academics and students of the school.
The exhibition will include:
- Neuroscience-based brain puzzle
- A mock excavation of a plastic skeleton
- A microscopically stained onion to demonstrate cell mitosis
- Extracting DNA from a strawberry
- A body donor programme information session to encourage body donation after death and thereby advance research and teaching.
#Anatomy100 exhibition details:
Date: 23 September – 5 October
Venue: Maropeng Visitor Centre (Cradle of Humankind)
For more information contact Dr. Brendon Billings at Brendon.Billings@wits.ac.za or telephone 011 717 2057.
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