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46% of getS.E.T.go! readers think that the most important benefit of South Africa’s recent participation in the Shanghai Expo, will be the raising of our country’s science & technology profile on the global stage. |
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38% opted for “sharing of international best practices in maths & science education”; and 15% for “building an international network of contacts”. |
Almost 21 000 learners from around South Africa and SADC countries participated in the Science Olympiad this year.
Congratulations to the four Grade 7 students from Sutherland High School in the Northern Cape, who beat teams from eight other centres around South Africa to win the 2010 national Astronomy Quiz.
Hot on their heels were the Cape Town team from Observatory Junior School in second place, and Phororong Primary from Gauteng in third.
Hosted by the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town on 29 October, this year’s finals marked the end of four gruelling rounds of competition at science centres around the country. Aimed at Grade 7 learners, the first round saw more than 3 000 youngsters participate. Four quiz rounds reduced this to one team from each centre, which went through to the finals.
“The competition was tough, but fair,” says Philip Steenkamp of the winning team, which answered questions about habitable exoplanets, the size of the sun, planetary nebulae and more to reach a final score that was only four points short of full marks.
The team won a telescope with accessories and software for their school, a pair of binoculars for each team member and their teacher, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Cosmic Africa DVDs. There were many other prizes for participants in the finals and all also received a fun gift pack from SAASTA.
The Astronomy Quiz project was initiated by Sci-Bono and funded by SAASTA in 2005 and has grown in leaps in bounds ever since. The finalists representing the nine centres in the 2010 competition were:
| 1. | Phororong Primary School (Gauteng): Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory | |
| 2. | Weltevreden Park Primary (Gauteng): SciBono Discovery Centre | |
| 3. | Unicom Primary School (Free State): Boyden Science Centre | |
| 4. | Observatory Junior School (Western Cape): South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) | |
| 5. | Sutherland High School (Northern Cape): Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) | |
| 6. | Dundee Primary (KwaZulu-Natal): Unizul Science Centre | |
| 7. | Ndawonye Primary School (Mpumalanga): Mondi Science Centre | |
| 8. | Potchefstroom Central School (North West Province): North West University (Potch Campus) Science Centre | |
| 9. | Pietersburg English Medium Primary (Limpopo): Vuwani Science Centre |
An elated winning team and their teacher celebrate their victory in the SAASTA AstroQuiz 2010 finals. The team of Grade 7 students from Sutherland High School are, from left, Gerardo Verhoog, Animm Heyns, Petrus Muller and Philip Steenkamp, with their teacher and coach,
Ann Gilfillan.