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Wits hosts National Science Week

- Wits University

Scores of high school learners from around Gauteng will be hosted by Wits for National Science Week 2019.

Themed, The Harsh Realities of Climate Change for 2019, National Science Week (NSW), is an annual event aiming to exhibit and communicate awareness in science. An initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), NSW runs from 29 July 2019 to 2 August 2019, simultaneously at different sites across the country.

NSW is a celebration of science, engineering and technology, attracting thousands of learners and members of the public to workshops, science shows and lectures, which are held at universities, schools, science centres and public facilities countrywide.

At Wits University, about 180 learners between Grades 9 and 11 will be on campus taking tours of various Schools in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, the Origins Centre Museum, the James Kitching Fossil Gallery,  the Schools of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies and Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, as well as iThemba Labs in Braamfontein.

The week includes a Wits Science Slam Competition where postgraduate students will present 5-minute talks to learners about their research.  The presentations take place every day during the course of the week and learners will vote for the most entertaining and informative presentation. Prizes will be awarded to the top three presentations. First place will win R20 000, second place will win R10 000 and third place will win R5 000. Finals take place on Friday, 2 August 2019.

As part of the activities taking place on campus for NSW, a panel discussion on climate change, comprising of postgraduate students will be held. Students will have an opportunity to share their opinions about climate change and its impact on society through an online survey and essay competition.

The week promises to be very interesting and thought provoking by exposing school learners and their teachers to the best that Wits has to offer.

Download the programme.

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