Unizul Science Centre 15th Birthday

Another UK guest, Dr Tim Caulton from the Magna Science Adventure Centre, Sheffield, UK, stressed how important science centres are in with over eight million people per year visiting them. He too praised the USC for what it had achieved with very limited resources. The USA Consulate was represented by Mrs Amelia Broderick, who presented the USC's Director, Derek Fish, with a travel grant to enable him to attend the ASTC Science Centre Conference abroad. This is the third travel grant donated by the Consulate to the USC - signifying the Consulate's support for the work of the USC.

A brief overview of the USC's history was given by the founder, Dr Johan van der Merwe, now from the Institute of Maritime Technology (IMT), Cape Town. He said that the University's Physics Department initiated the project in 1986, after concern about the lack of interest amongst pupils and students in the fields of Maths and Science. It has since grown from its humble beginnings 15 years ago in an old laboratory at the University, to a thousand square metre facility with more than 100 interactive experiments on display, as well as a state-of-the-art auditorium. The USC is visited by more than 20 000 pupils annually and more than 135 000 have visited its displays since its opening. These include a Hall of Industry, Maths Puzzle Room, Optics Laboratory and Auto Works. Dr Van der Merwe also announced that the IMT would be donating two exhibits from a bat exhibition to the USC.

A particularly touching aspect was a talk given by Mr. Xulu, a Science teacher at a rural school near Eshowe. He was inspired to go into the Sciences by a visit to the USC as a 15-year old pupil in 1995 and has now returned to the same rural area to teach. Finally, Derek Fish and Alfred Tsipa, entertained guests with `scientific magic': - to thank local industries for their ongoing financial support, Mr Tsipa turned their water into wine. His miracle recipe, however, remains a secret of science (but can be obtained, along with any other information required about the USC, by phoning 035-7973204)