SAASTA getSETgo, January 2013: Beijing Science Festival: "Feel Science, Enjoy Science"

From the Great Wall of China to the Pyramids of Egypt, from the Forbidden City in Beijing to the Louvre in Paris, from the South Pole to the Equator, from the Mediterranean to Australia, SAASTA has never stopped exploring the fascinating world of science.


Dr Jabu Nukeri, MD of SAASTA attends the glittering opening ceremony of the Beijing Science Festival with Edward (left), his official guide.	Dr Nukeri (centre) at the SAASTA exhibit with two volunteers who acted as interpreters for the duration of the festival.	Dr Nukeri at the Children's Palace, a community centre in Beijing that runs extracurricular classes for children in arts, sport, dance and more.

SAASTA's Erna Taljaard admires a three-dimensional model of the Beijing Science Festival logo.	Derek Fish, Director of the Unizul Science Centre (second from right) with a few aspiring scientists at the SAASTA exhibit.	South Africa's daily science shows, in which Derek Fish focused on the science of music, drew the crowds.

So when the Beijing Association for Science and Technology (BAST) invited Dr Jabu Nukeri, Managing Director of SAASTA to exhibit at the Beijing Science Festival, which annually draws more than 100 000 festival partakers, Dr Nukeri and Erna Taljaard travelled to Beijing to comply with the request. They were accompanied by Derek Fish, Director of the Unizul Science Centre.

The visit formed part of a long-term science and technology exchange and cooperation agreement between South Africa and Beijing, signed in March 2009. The agreement is aimed at facilitating the exchange of information and experiences as well as discussion around a range of possible areas of cooperation.

Over 500 enterprises in Beijing supported the festival activities, which were structured around the theme "Feel Science, Enjoy Science". Not only did the enterprises provide zones where visitors could gain first-hand experience of science and technology, but they also displayed their technological innovation and social development projects as well as their science outreach and awareness initiatives.

Derek Fish conducted daily science shows focusing on the science of music, alongside some of the top participating organisations. Representing different industries, these organisations put on interactive displays of scientific material, open scientific experiments, science competitions, and popular science lectures for children to enjoy.

"These initiatives demonstrated just how interesting science can be," SAASTA's Erna Taljaard said. "Through music, literature, film, food, as well as a variety of performances and entertainment the charm of the unique world of science became clearly evident."

Dr Nukeri commented that this annual festival has inspired a social passion for science learning and innovation, and has played a positive role in enhancing public scientific literacy in Beijing. "These are the principles we hope to implement back home at SAASTA," he added.

The BAST delegation will be visiting South Africa in March 2013. SAASTA is looking forward to welcoming the Beijing team to our beautiful country.