SCIENCE doesn't always have to be about chemicals and formulas worked out in stuffy classrooms. It can be a truly exciting learning experience at Newtown's Sci Bono Discovery Centre.

LEARNING about science can be exciting - and Newtown's Sci Bono Discovery Centre is out to prove it.

Science graduates work as hosts, taking learners through the exhibits

For groups of young visitors to the centre, the Kaleido Scope is a particularly popular attraction, with lines of children waiting anxiously for their turn to communicate with friends on the opposite side of the building.

Another exhibition attracting loads of attention is the Question of Truth display, developed by the Ontario Science Centre in Canada. This exhibition deals with the idea that scientific truth is based on individual and cultural perceptions, a notion that is highly relevant in the context of South Africa's diverse and multicultural society and human rights history.

Inside the Sci Bono Centre

"It's really nice to be here and I'm going to come back again. There are many things that we learn about science here," says Ishmael Myburgh, a Grade 7 pupil from Westbury Primary School.

The Sci Bono Centre is considered one of the largest scientific exhibition centres in Africa. About 150 visitors a day are shown around by 16 maths and science graduates who work as hosts, taking visitors through the exhibits and telling them about the various concepts involved.

Located within the centre is the BHP Billiton Career Centre, a project aimed at informing youngsters about career prospects in the maths and science fields.

The Centre recently received a R13, 5-million donation from the BHP Billiton development trust. BHP Billiton is a global resources company involved in promoting science and technology education around the world.

Learners at the centre

"The Centre will provide access to mathematics, science and technology careers to those people who previously could not follow such occupations," says Lulu Khumalo, the trust's manager for education and communications.

The Centre supplies information on various learnership opportunities, career leaflets and brochures, references on the process of searching for a job, guidelines for prospective university applicants, bursary information and a computerised interactive career decision-making system.

"The Centre will use curriculum-focused on-site edutainment, a career mentoring programme, outreach programmes and teaching kits," Khumalo says.

Educational programmes will target both educators and learners.

According to BHP Billiton manager, Phelelia Sekele, the Centre has two programmes. The first offers career guidance and counselling, psychometric assessments and an education programme. "We have direct access in all schools around Gauteng and travel costs for schools are covered by the Department of Education," Sekele says.

"Our second programme will be an outreach programme, which includes visiting schools and giving learners information on the choice of subjects, teaching them about time management and giving them guidelines on how to look for jobs," Sekele adds.

The Sci Bono Centre is currently undergoing further developments

He assures prospective visitors, however, that the centre is not limited to maths and science students. "It is for everyone, including parents. We would like to encourage people to come here so that they can develop a love for science," he says.

The R150-million Sci Bono Discovery Centre is an inner city regeneration project set up by the national Department of Education, the Gauteng Department of Education, Blue IQ and the Johannesburg Development Agency. It aims to promote maths, science and technology education, focusing primarily on school children.

The Sci Bono Discovery Centre is currently undergoing further developments and will be closed from the end of November to January due to construction work.

Itumeleng Maimela, a Grade 7 pupil from Westbury Primary School, was disappointed by this news. "This is the place to be and I wanted to bring my friends along during the December school holidays."

According to Sekele, "we are currently busy with phase one, which will include an exhibition hall with 10 to 20 percent of the total exhibits. This space will also provide temporary classrooms and laboratories, as well as temporary administration offices and a coffee shop. Mechanical and electrical renovations will also be carried out during this phase."

Phase two will begin early next year, and will include science laboratories, Sekele says. "Teachers from various schools will be doing experiments at these labs during the week and on weekends. We are working within the Outcomes-Based Education curriculum," he adds.

The final phase will entail further development of the existing offices and a pre-school discovery centre. This phase is scheduled for completion by early 2006.

For more information go to www.sci-bono.co.za.