Report by Naseera Goga, Grade 11
On October 6, The Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre in Boksburg welcomed 575 budding scientists for the 35th annual Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, International Science Fair.
Being the largest and most prestigious science fair in Africa, it hosted a handful of participants from countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Thailand, as well as a number of African countries, including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and the majority from South Africa.
Meetings pupils from around the globe was definitely exciting, and getting to know others through team-building activities was most enjoyable.
South Africa was recently ranked fifth in the world for its exceptionally high standard of Science Expo projects, and judging from numerous outstanding projects, we are inching our way closer and closer to the top.
My project, Generating Energy through Movement, which received silver, involved charging a capacitor while walking, which can then in turn be used to light an LED by the use of placing piezo-elements in one’s shoe.
Albert Einstein once said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”
My journey to the Science Expo proved to be an unforgettable experience including many enjoyable challenges.
I also learned a lot of useful skills and met incredible people along the way.
I would like to thank St Dominic’s Academy Newcastle, for giving me the opportunity to participate in an event of this calibre, as well as everybody who was involved in making my project a success.
