The debating team from Randfontein High School visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York City in March 2017 as prize for winning the 2016 SAASTA National Schools Debates. A highlight of their trip was attending the 2017 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate, where they had the opportunity to meet prominent astrophysicist and renowned science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was host and moderator of the debate.

The theme of the debate was “De-extinction”, asking whether we should be using science to bring back species that have become extinct due to human activity. The learners were privileged to hear the thoughts of top scientists from universities across the United States of America. One of the learners commented that “the debate on de-extinction was the best, it opened my eyes to new possibilities”.

SAASTA, in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), who hosted the team in New York, organised an exciting and fun-filled programme. Other highlights of the trip included visiting the New York Hall of Science, Science Bulletins and the New York Historical Society. During their trip, the learners interacted with experts in various sciences, learning about astrophysics, zoology, herpetology, among others. The trip would not be complete without participating in a debate and so the team visited Hunter’s Point Middle School and took part in a debate on Genetically Modified Food, a topic they were well familiar with, having been the topic at the national finals of the SAASTA Schools Debates. They put their critical thinking skills to the test, presented good arguments and were true science communication ambassadors.

The National Schools Debates Competition, implemented by SAASTA, gives learners in grades 9 to 11 opportunity to develop their research, critical thinking and information literacy skills, as well as their ability to work as a team to present logical, clear arguments by debating high level topics in science and technology. It is supported by DST-funded programmes – HySA Public Awareness, Demonstration and Education Platform (HySA PADEP), Nanotechnology Public Engagement Programme (NPEP), Public Understanding of Biotechnology (PUB) and the Bloodhound Super Sonic Car Project.

The path of the Randfontein High School team in the Schools Debates, ending in their prized trip to New York, started early in 2016 when they entered the competition through an essay submission, in which they were required to consider a scientific topic from different perspectives, including economic, socio-cultural and political perspectives. From the essays, they were one of ten schools selected to participate in the provincial competition. After winning the provincial competition, they proceeded to the national finals on 6 October 2016 and were selected by a panel of judges of debating and science experts as the national winners.

Through tackling different scientific topics and considering various perspectives, learners are equipped to become ambassadors for science communication. The competition hopes to empower the learners to start other conversation about science and lead discussions in their own communities.