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FFS are involved in several social programmes: FFS Expo for Young Scientists The Science Expo was set up in order to encourage young people to engage with all the steps in the scientific process. Pupils have to identify something worth investigating, design a scientifically accurate way of investigating this identified phenomenon, carry out the investigation, collect the results, analyse them and draw a logical conclusion from these results. The entire scientific process in which they engaged has to be documented. The procedure, results and conclusions have to be summarised in an eye-catching poster and pupils are required to be able to discuss their project and research and explain to an outsider (who acts as a judge) how they conducted their research, what their findings were and how they reached their conclusions. The projects are placed into categories based on the subject of the research so that projects investigating similar topics can be judged against one another. All projects are judged by at least 2, often 3, judges who have to reach consensus about final scores for the quality of the research conducted, whether it was conducted scientifically, quality of the poster and the level of insight into the research that becomes evident through the interview. Projects are given a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd class award based on the ratings given by the judges. The students receive a medal for each of these awards. A standards committee is tasked with looking at all projects that are given 1st class awards in all the categories. These are then re-judged and allocated a bronze, silver, or gold medal award. These pupils are taken on a 4 day tour of various places of scientific interest in KZN and Gauteng such as the World Heritage Site of the ‘Cradle of Mankind’, the National Energy Commission, the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory, the Johannesburg Planetarium, the Tswaing Meteorite Crater, etc. This tour has proved to be incredibly popular. The dates for Expo this year are 7 and 8 August . It will be held at the Sports Centre of the Westville Campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal . The Expo will be open to the public for viewing from 12 noon on Wednesday 8 August.
Further information is available here:
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