Education

 'SciFest is where I discovered my passion'

Nandipha Nomsobo strolls among the whirling colours and the noise of excited kids at the MTN Sciencentre in Cape Town, where she enjoys communicating her passion for science to kids the same age as her two little brothers.

The 22-year-old started her national youth service, where the Department of Science and Technology organises placements for varsity science graduates throughout the country, at the beginning of February. Ryan Bruton, the science centre's functions coordinator, describes Nandipha as "vibrant, friendly and a very hard worker".

But Nandipha's route to science started much earlier, on the hill overlooking her home town of Rhini, or Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape.

''I've been going to SciFest every year since I can remember, probably since my days in primary school, at Victoria Girls Primary,'' she says.

The kid from Matthew Street has grown up into a University of Cape Town graduate who says South Africa's annual science festival in the 1820 Settlers' Monument kicked off her career with the opportunities to speak to living, breathing young scientists for the first time.

"Apart from the explosive science shows and the luminescence experiments, it must be the time that I held a python in my arms,'' she recalls. ''SciFest was one adrenaline rush!"

"It was during these visits that I realised my passion for science and my desire to be part of such events," says the energetic biochemistry major, who would like to run her own production laboratory one day.

She also pays tribute to her mother, ''the clever one in the family:'' nurse Ntombohlanga Mjlom ''who supported me 100%.''

The yearly science booster injection at SciFest "allowed Nandipha to open her mind to the endless possibilities of working in the fields of science and technology,'' said Bruton, a regular visitor to the science festival. ''At the MTN Sciencentre you need to work across different fields of science and this open-mindedness has undoubtedly helped her.''

Bruton looks forward to SciFest next month. "The MTN Sciencentre would not miss this yearly event for the world! It is an important event on the science communication calendar in Southern Africa."

His favourite moment: ''The look of sheer, shiny happiness in the eyes of the children as they surge up the monument stairs. The only thing better is to see the amazement on their faces when they figure out how to do something all by themselves." The future Nandiphas, in other words. Or maybe her little brothers: ''their eyes light up when I talk to them about science,'' she says, laughing. ''They think I'm a genius!''

More information:

SciFest Africa 2008 takes place from 16 to 22 April in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. Call 046 603 1106 to order a programme or 046 603 1159 to book your tickets early. www.scifest.org.za   

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