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SOMERSET EDUCATIONAL
Science Kits take world by storm
by Deonette Haggard, Somerset Educational
 When people talk pocket calculators, laptops and cell phones, Somerset Educational talks 'palmtop' laboratories or Minilabs. This palmsized piece of equipment can be used under a tree, at home, in fact, anywhere and Science experiments can be done from primary school through to university level. Teachers and learners are enthused and thrilled and describe it as "awesome and incredible to work with - a real McGuyver box" and "magical".
This micro lab weaved macro magic in the small town of Somerset East as it touched the lives of many unemployed residents. They are now known as pieceworkers who earn their daily bread through Microscience. Their modest work, done in their homes on the slopes of Boschberg, helps 400 000 children in 30 countries across the globe to perform low-cost hands-on Science experiments. About 30 pieceworkers put together components that go into safe, low-cost Microchemistry sets that are revolutionising attitudes to Science among children from rural Africa to Europe, Asia, South America and the U.S.A. Some of the components in the kits are also manufactured in Somerset East.
Indeed, a "magical sequence of events" brought Microscience to Somerset East, says Howard Kimel, one of the directors of Somerset Educational, where the Minilabs are assembled ready for dispatch to schools world- wide.
"How often does one get the feeling that you are helping a whole country?" asks Kimel.
From Cincinnati in the U.S.A. he never dreamed that at the age of 64 he would be spending half his time in the Karoo. He came to S.A. for the first time in 1993, when he brought his Science sets to an exhibition promoting American products.
No one was interested until Mark Hynd who specialises in medical equipment, came along and expressed interest in the Comboplate. His interest helped kick-start the development of a truly S.A. product that met the local need for low-cost re-usable science equipment and the Comboplate is now the "heart of the palmtop lab".
The pair worked with Prof. John Bradley and his team from the University of the Witwatersrand Centre for Research and Development in Maths, Science and Technology Education (RADMASTE) which had been looking for low-cost Science equipment. The dream "to put a kit in the hand of every Science learner in S.A." was now in the process of becoming a reality.
The success of the system has been phenomenal. The concept has been honoured by two awards and has been internationally accepted and accredited worldwide:
¨ UNESCO global program
¨ The Royal Society of Chemistry, United Kingdom
¨ The Australian Association of Science Teachers
¨ The South African Chemical Institute
¨ The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists
¨ The National Science and Technology Forum award in 1988
¨ Worlddidac Award 2000 for the Combo-Still
¨ Departments of Education in S.A. (thousands of teachers and learners)
Teacher training colleges, technikons, universities and schools use the kits. Their instant appeal is cost and safety. Children can conduct experiments working alone and the price of a basic kit is peanuts compared to the thousands of rands needed to build a good lab. The kits can be used repeatedly and no running water or electricity is needed. The system is backed by a human support system which includes training programmes and support by professional educators.
Comments by learners range from "this is so cool" to "Science is fun" and "now I am a Scientist". Yes, indeed, the Microscience team has produced a low-cost, novel, safe, curriculum- as well as an environmentally friendly system with which to capture the imaginations of budding scientists and inspire educators to bring life back into Science teaching.
In recent months offices of Somerset Educational have been established in the U.S.A as well as in the U.K. Marketing in the rest of the world is now done from the U.K. office while manufacturing and distribution of products still take place from Somerset Educational
S.A in the small Karoo town of Somerset East. At the end of 1999 a project to establish Microscience Centres of Excellence throughout the U.K. was initiated. These Centres will equip every child in the U.K. schools with their own kit. It is envisaged that Somerset Educational will become an international player in the Science education market.
Through dedication and honest, hard work by a handful of people at Somerset Educational, a dream has become a reality and a miracle in Science education is happening out there.
Contact Somerset Educational at : microscience@isat.co.za
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