Young scientists prepare for regional competition

GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - Eskom Expo for Young Scientists (EEFYS) in the Eden Karoo region is back to meeting participants in person, in the run-up to the regional competition at Outeniqua High School on 29 and 30 July.

Gearing up towards this event, the EEFYS hosted several teacher / learner day camp sessions and special online sessions in February and March.

During these sessions educators and learners are equipped with a better understanding regarding project content.

"This year we saw a remarkable increase in participation during the day camps, with the last learner count being 319 for the region," said provincial administrative official Sonet Strydom.

"We are proud to announce that beside the previous participating schools we had many more young scientists from primary schools coming on board." A total of 10 primary schools and 16 high schools will participate in this year's science expo. "It is great to see learners' energetic approach and eagerness to learn about science at the day camps."

Get involved

Strydom said the hands-on input from schools, parents, educators, committee members, stakeholders, field experts and local businesses are essential for the success of the event.

"We appeal to postgraduates, engineers, IT and social entities to serve as volunteer judges at our district and regional competition," she said.

"It is important to pay the way forward, thus affording learners the opportunity to get expert and unbiased inputs with regard to their projects. Learners look up to persons in successful careers and value their expertise before the big day. With the district expos around the corner in May and the regional competition planned for July, we rely on the kindness of local businesses and those coming on board as judges."

Local business and universities can become part of this one-of-a-kind showcase platform for all learners in our region and assist with a variety of prizes (13 categories and many more to cover) which are the drawing card for striving towards quality projects and research.