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Mobile tech laboratory using robotics to inspire love of science in children

i-Set project leader & Unisa lecturer Patricia Gouws discusses the i-Set Programme

12th October 2018

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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The latest mobile laboratory of the Inspired towards Science, Engineering and Technology (I-SET) science community engagement project has robotics kits that learners use to build and program robots, thereby inspiring them to pursue careers in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

Project leader and University of South Africa (Unisa) lecturer Patricia Gouws says the eight other mobile laboratories will also be revamped to include robotics kits and laptops for programming, alongside the physical and chemical science kits. All nine mobile laboratories are sponsored by petrochemicals major Sasol.

“Within two hours, the learners cross the barrier from being apprehensive about technology, robotics and programming to being excited and among the few who were exposed to, and have used, these technologies.”

Robotics has been demonstrated to have a huge impact on the children exposed to it and the mobile laboratories aim to make this possible in many communities, she says.

The I-SET programme trains facilitators, who are mainly undergraduate students from Unisa, to work with the children in small, intimate groups, conducting experiments and building robots. Crucially, the facilitators communicate the scientific principles to the children in their mother tongue, she highlights.

“We have the Lego Education EV3 Mindstorms robots in the kits. “The children start by building a basic robot, such as a wheeled robot, and then programming it. Once the robot can move around, the children modify it and change it and reprogram it.

“Many youngsters are apprehensive about coding and technology, but, once they have experienced its use, these barriers evaporate.”

The mobile laboratory programme is in its tenth year and some of the children who were exposed to the sciences through the mobile laboratory programme have gone on to attend prestigious institutions, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, highlights Gouws.

“Ten-year-old children are not aware that programming and engineering are considered difficult and, through exposure, never develop the fears . . . that many of us have about the difficulty of using technology.”

In response to a shortage of skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the country and in an effort to shape the futures of individuals, the project’s vision is to equip and to inspire educators and learners in STEM subjects.

The Mobile Science Laboratory programme was initiated with the obejct of using technology-based solutions to reach out to rural communities and improve the delivery of education in schools. Learners in underserved schools can experience the Unisa Science Campus and are introduced to the diverse range of Unisa Community Engagement projects.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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