07 Jun 2023

Machana Primary School pupils, teachers and dignitaries will be treated to a stargaze tomorrow evening.

This will be a follow up to the on-going astronomy training workshop organised by Kanye Education Centre.    

The one-week workshop is facilitated by Diamonds in the Sky, a collaboration between BIUST and the teacher training unit at the Ministry of Education and Skills Development.

Speaking during the workshop principal education officer, Ms Lydia Makgoma, said the workshop was intended to bring astronomy education to teachers and pupils at Machana and nine other settlements in the Southern District.

It was also aimed at facilitating astronomy and space education teaching for primary school teachers, while introducing educators to the teaching methods they could adopt for teaching astronomy as a science subject.

The workshop, she said, would also provide teachers with astronomy and other science related equipment for use in and out of the classroom to impart confidence in their own teaching abilities.

She expressed confidence that the workshop would see teachers being able to motivate and inspire learners to consider pursuing further studies and careers in astronomy and related fields.

The emphasis for the pupils would be on capturing their imagination and stimulating their curiosity about astronomy and science in general.

She said the goal was to increase participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in secondary school leading to degrees and future careers in STEM related fields in years to come. Astronomy as a science is best positioned for this purpose as it is easily observable but not very intuitive, she said.

She noted that the event would be culminated with presentation of small telescopes and other scientific equipment to help sustain astronomy instruction. ENDS