Accra, November 29, 2019
The Ghana Young Academy collaborated with the Next Einstein Forum to organize a practical science challenge at the Firm Foundation School, Baatsona-Spintex, Accra, as part of the Annual Africa Science Week Celebrations. The students of the school are mostly from poor homes where parents have had very little or no education.
Volunteers for the activity reached out to the GhYA through social media after publication of the event on our social media pages. The practical science challenge took place on November 29, 2019.
Students were taken through the two challenges they were going to carry out, namely, building of a crop irrigation system and a water filtration system. Groups competed against each other. In order to build their systems, students were expected to source their materials from household items which had been provided in a make-believe market.
The students were not told what they may need but were expected to discuss among themselves and decide which items were most useful for building their systems.
Groups were given the opportunity to explain what they had built and how it worked after the challenge. Students found the activity to be “challenging but fun” and hoped to have such activities often to help encourage creativity. Students received cash prizes for their efforts.