Mobile labs to empower science boffs
Dedicated teams will go into rural schools and offer them practical science lessons throughout the year.
THIRTY schools in the rural and under resourced areas of Clermont, KwaDabeka and Molweni with currently little or no science infrastructure are set to benefit in 2015 from MAHLE Behr’s (MBSA) Science2Go mobile science laboratory.
The costs of establishing, maintaining, and upgrading science laboratories can curtail teachers’ abilities to teach hands-on science. Through MBSA’s partnership with the Centre for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education (CASME), the Science2Go mobile laboratory will reach out to poorly resourced schools to help the pupils with the curriculum-based hands-on experiments.
The colourful Science2Go vehicle has been converted and fitted to house the laboratory science equipment. CASME have experienced facilitators and laboratory assistants who will be conducting the sessions at the 30 local schools. The lessons have been designed to align with the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) requirements for physical and natural sciences.
Each school will be visited once per term (during term one to three) for a full day of practical activities. The programme will be structured to reach a potential of 15 000 pupils.
“One key advantage of the Science2Go laboratory is that one set of equipment can be used to serve multiple schools. Many schools do not have the funds to buy a full set of laboratory equipment and chemicals, so this shared approach helps a limited set of resources go a long way,” said, Henre Benson, head of operations for CASME.
Alex Holmes, commercial director for MBSA said, “Our Science2Go programme is an innovative way to reach a larger number of pupils from our local area with high-quality science education. We believe that the portable science lab will inspire, educate and spark the interest of science leaders for tomorrow.”
