THE HERALD
21 September 2021
While most children only dream of finding a dinosaur bone in their backyard, those in the village of Qhemegha have their own palaeoscience playground.
In an effort to educate the village’s 160 school and early childhood development (ECD) pupils about the history of the area located on the Eastern Cape side of the Lesotho border, Play Africa recently launched its “Dinosaur Dig” travelling exhibition.
In 2015, residents alerted SA universities of fossils in the area.
Since then, palaeoscientists have been working with the community to excavate what is now known as one of the richest dinosaur fossil sites in Southern Africa.
Play Africa, a children’s museum based at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, partnered with the DSI-NRF Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences and the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits University to design and build the “Dinosaur Dig” travelling exhibition.
The 100m² hands-on exhibition was designed and built by small businesses before being transported to Qhemegha Senior Primary School.
Play Africa chief executive Gretchen Wilson-Prangley said the interactive exhibit included playful learning elements and a life-size dinosaur skeleton created with a 3D printer.
“We believe the children of Qhemegha are among the potential South African palaeoscientists of tomorrow,” Wilson-Prangley said.
“We want every child in Qhemegha to fall in love with and be proud of the amazing fossils of the area.
“We also want them to learn how they can pursue this field of study for a future career.”
The exhibition allows pupils to move through different scenes to envision ancient landscapes and learn more about how palaeontologists dig for fossils.
The Evolutionary Studies Institute’s Prof Jonah Choiniere said the greater Qhemegha community had been the catalyst for groundbreaking research on dinosaurs.
“Now we’re closing the loop by bringing that research back to them to inspire the next generation of palaeontologists,” Choiniere said.
Sginyane Ralane, a prominent resident, along with shepherd Dumangwe Thyobeka, first alerted Choiniere to the existence of the fossils.
Ralane said you could see and feel the optimism and enthusiasm of the whole village about the exhibition.
“Ultimately, we would love to see the children of this village following studies in palaeoscience at university.
“The future looks brighter for these children through playful learning.”
Wilson-Prangley described the exhibition as an exciting, informal learning environment with materials that invited children to test, experiment and explore.
“We help children see that if they loved this experience, they can ‘lean in’ to coursework and careers that unlock pathways to careers in palaeontology, or other fields in science, technology, engineering and maths [STEM subjects].
“We’ve designed this programme to show every child that she or he has a right to science, science education and science literacy,” Wilson-Prangley said.
“We want to unlock new possibilities for children traditionally excluded from and underrepresented in STEM fields.”
She said the exhibition was launched as a pilot project over five days last week and had since returned to Gauteng.
“Like any educational project we need partners to come on board for funding.
“We had a budget to launch the project in the Eastern Cape but for it reach hundreds and thousands of pupils across SA it requires funding.”
Amkelwe Mnduze, a grade 7 pupil at Qhemegha Senior Primary said that through the programme she had learnt of a few of the hotspots where you could dig for fossils in and around the village.
A library of age-appropriate books, many with a special focus on STEM subjects, and other educational material were also donated to the pupils.