Science comes alive during National Science Week this year, with sea dog tales of sea monsters, freak waves, sea battles, pirates, sunken treasure, cannons, shipwrecks, smugglers, slave traders and more.
Science comes alive during National Science Week this year, with sea dog tales of sea monsters, freak waves, sea battles, pirates, sunken treasure, cannons, shipwrecks, smugglers, slave traders and more.
These intriguing stories will be told by Basil Mills, of the National English Literary Museum, who has an interest in the myths, legends and facts surrounding our Eastern Cape maritime heritage.
An initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) National Science Week is a countrywide celebration of science involving various stakeholders and/or role players conducting science-based activities.
National Science Week is run in all nine provinces simultaneously at multiple sites per province. It takes place from 4 – 9 August, 2014 and aims to highlight the importance of science in our everyday lives.
On the programme for the Cacadu District is an exploration of questions such as: How do we prepare and preserve fish and frog specimens for examination of their bones? How and why are x-rays used to study their bones? And why do we study the bones of fish and frogs? Answers will be found in a hands-on workshop to look at the fascinating world of osteology.
The workshop is being run by Roger Bills, Collection Manager at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB). His research interests include the biogeography and systematics of freshwater fishes and the conservation genetics and management of threatened freshwater fishes.
The public are also invited on a tour of the Collection Facility and Collection Management Centre at SAIAB. It offers state-of-the-art facilities, equipment and processes, accommodation for multiple users, and provides teaching platforms for students. It comprises a range of wet collections and specialised laboratories, and is designed to store valuable specimens including fishes, amphibian, cephalopods, diatoms, tunicates and aquatic invertebrates.
Also in focus will be a talk dealing with the question of why women seem to be less inclined to choose science as a career option than men. Wouter Holleman introduces the concept of Dimensions of National Cultures, as defined by Hofstede (1980; 1991), and focuses on two of these, Gender and Power Distance.
Manager of Communications and Governance at SAIAB, Penny Haworth, said,“We use the week as a platform for creating public awareness, appreciation and engagement of science, engineering and technology in South Africa.”
The programme has been going since 2005.
For more information and to book, phone Vanessa on 046 603 5800 at SAIAB, Somerset Street, Grahamstown.
All events are free of charge and sponsored by the DST as part of National Science Week.
