"Curious Minds" - making science accessible

Date Released: Mon, 9 May 2011 20:10 +0200

“Curious minds”, making science accessible to young minds.

In a first for the Centre for Social Development (CSD) the ever popular Scikidz event hosted by the Centre was taken to various community halls around Grahamstown. Unlike past events which was held at one venue in town, this year saw activities of exploration and discovery taken to five different venues around Grahamstown.

Scikidz was started by CSD and Scifest Africa as a “Scifest for young children”. It is aimed specifically at the Grade R age group because it is during this development phase that children learn by interaction with their environment. There is an inherent motivation to learn and one of the aims of education in early years is to foster a spirit of curiosity and learning. Something that if not developed then, will never be developed in later years. Rather than being an event, science is more about a process, it involves a way of thinking about the world and not just merely observing how things are happening. The more than 900 children that attended this year’s Scikidz were free to run, touch, play, climb, draw, build, read and generally just experience a myriad of activities that stimulated all their senses.

Pic : Bongiwe Nondabule, a Scifriend helping Luyanda from Kuyasa School with a puzzle at the Recreation Hall