Emilie Shimbali
The annual Science Week is currently underway at the mines ministry in the capital and will host learners from 23 different schools across Windhoek.
The event is taking place under the theme ‘Better Health through better Understanding’, and is organised by Unesco, Goethe Institute, Ministry of Mines and Energy, and Swakopmund Museum.
Another Science Week event is planned for Swakopmund from 6 to 11 December.
Helke Mocke, the chief geologist at the mines ministry, told Youth Corner their main goal is to reach out to schools and the rest of the community to present a better understanding of science and what scientists do.
“It is for our learners to gain interest in science and also to have an overview of what science contributes to the development of our country,” said Mocke.
Participating schools and members of the public have the opportunity to be entertained and enjoy science hands-on, while interacting with local scientists.
The event showcases a variety of outdoor and indoor activities based on the theme, and include calming sand therapy to soothe the emotions of learners.
In addition, learners watch short films with a scientific background produced by the Goethe Institute. Participants then have an interactive session to test what they have learned from those films and how they relate it to their daily activities.
They will also experience robotics, coding (Covid-19 simulation), a doodle video on the science of happiness, and a social media challenge on a science experiment.
Activities also include a panel discussion on the wellbeing of scientists, set for NUST tomorrow.
“We are trying to achieve innovation and we aim for learners to explore the possibilities to do science in any form,” said geoscientist Josephine Uushona when she hosted learners at the event’s kick-off on Monday.