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We’re a growing, agile children’s museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. We empower and equip all children and families for the future through #play, #creativity, #innovation & #connection.

In October, more than 350 children in
Johannesburg’s inner city participated in a dynamic #STEM learning that aims to be
accessible, entertaining and fun.
The Science Film Festival aims to inspire a new generation of scientists through film
screenings and related play-based learning activities. Taking place at 13 different locations over 8 weeks, it brought the wonder and awe of scientific
subjects directly to children in their own classrooms and communities.
Play Africa, a children’s museum based at Constitution Hill, used the film screenings
and related activities to promote science literacy and build awareness of scientific,
technical and environmental issues through films and hands-on educational activities.

“To help create the South African scientists of tomorrow, we are making science
fun and accessible to all children,” said Play Africa programme manager Mpho Tsele.
“Through Play Africa’s partnership with the Science Film Festival, we are showing
children that they don’t need a lab coat to be a scientist. Science is all around us.
It’s in the colours of the rainbow, it’s in how our food grows, it’s in the water we
drink and how we recycle. ”

Since its inception by the Goethe-Institut Thailand in 2005, the Science Film Festival
has become one of the biggest film festivals worldwide, with over 1 million visitors. It is
organized in each country by the Goethe-Institut in close cooperation with local
partners.
 

“The Science Film Festival presents scientific issues in an accessible and
entertaining way to a broad audience and demonstrates that science can be fun for
children from all ages,” said Dr. Nadine Siegert, Head of Culture and Development at
the Goethe-Institut South Africa. 

“Through the festival, we are continuing our work
in the field of science education as we did with the I am Science project from
2016-2019. We are very happy to have found a project partner in Play Africa who is
as enthusiastic about children’s education as we are.”

The programme received additional support from Rand Merchant Bank, Constitution Hill and Care for Education. This year’s theme is the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
which were created to be a “shared vision of humanity and a social contract between
the world's leaders and the people.” The ambitious goals to fix climate change, end
poverty and fight inequality and injustice were designed to motivate citizens, not just
policy-makers.

“Play Africa wants all children to know they can be changemakers,” said Play Africa
CEO Gretchen Wilson-Prangley. “We see children as full citizens in our society, who
are learning the skills today to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. We want all
children to know they can play a role, however small, in responding to the
Sustainable Development Goals.”
 

This is the second year that Play Africa has partnered with the Goethe-Institut South
Africa to bring the Science Film Festival to children in Johannesburg. Wilson-Prangley
said the team had to get creative in an era of COVID-19.
“Last year, we welcomed children and families at public screenings at Constitution
Hill,” Wilson-Prangley said. “This year, due to COVID-19, we’ve developed an innovative solution by
partnering with inner-city housing companies, so we can offer relevant, meaningful
STEM education experiences to children in high-rise apartment buildings. We want
children to know that science is all around them, wherever they are, and that a
lifelong passion for science can be ignited anywhere.”

For more information about this programme, contact info (at) playafrica {dot} org [dot] za.