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World Space Week 2003 Report
South Africa joined more than 50 countries worldwide to celebrate World Space Week from 4 - 10 October this year. The Departments of Science and Technology
(DST) and Communications (DOC) joined forces to organise space science events for young and old with the aim to make people more aware of the many exciting developments in space science and astronomy in southern
Africa.
The initiative was driven by the National Working Group on Space Science and Technology, an inter-departmental initiative comprising DST, DOC, the Department
of Trade and Industry and the Department of Foreign Affairs, and other stakeholders in the South African space arena. The South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, a business unit of South
Africa's National Research Foundation, acted as a main implementation agency.
Events included:
- A "roadshow" (from 6 - 11 October) taking space science and technology to schools in urban and rural areas across South Africa;
- Space festivals at science centres and observatories in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. At these venues school groups and other visitors could:
- participate in rocket launches;
- participate in space science shows, quizzes and exhibitions;
- develop a portable sundial to take to schools to be used as a template for schools to paint their own sundials;
- hear popular talks on space related topics;
- make their own telescopes; and
- visit an inflatable planetarium.
- At the Cape Town event, Mark Shuttleworth, the first African in space, paid the festival a surprise visit to the delight and excitement of participants.
He unveiled a working replica of the Mars Rover.
- Smaller events were also organised in Richard's Bay and Mossel Bay. The Planetariums in Cape Town and Johannesburg, as well as the Hartebeesthoek
Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Satellite Application Centre at Hartebeesthoek joined in to put on extra activities during this week. In Sutherland, home to the new Southern African Large Telescope, an
interim visitors' centre was opened during World Space Week.
- Across the country, a large number of special visits were arranged for learners from historically disadvantaged schools to visit space science
institutions.
Website
- A World Space Week South Africa web site: www.space.gov.za/wsw was created. The site has downloads of the Southern Skies Challenge competition entry forms and map posters, listed all the events around the country during WSW, and contained information on the country's involvement in space science and research. It currently also contains a selection photographs of World Space Week South Africa 2003 events and the latest news on local space science research.
Competition
- The Southern Skies Challenge competition invited the youth (5 – 23 years) to write, draw or create other art about space science in different
categories. Prizes in this competition included computers, cash prizes and visits to the construction site of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). Prize winners will be announced early in 2004. See www.space.gov.za/wsw/ssc.html for more information.
Poster
- A map poster with information on "Who's who in South Africa's Space Zoo" was produced as an educational resource for schools, libraries and
museums. The poster was made available free of charge to these institutions. See www.space.gov.za/wsw/whoswho.html for more information.
Captions for the Photos Below:
- Understanding torque and gyroscopic effects was an eye-opener. Under the watchful eye of Mziwanele Taele, learners could explore this concept at
Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory during World Space Week. Busloads of visitors arrived at the observatory every morning and afternoon during the week, most of them from schools in Soweto.
- Mark Shuttleworth, the first African in space, unveiled a replica of the Mars Rover in Cape Town.
- Mark Shuttleworth's space suit and helmet were on display in Cape Town during World Space Week 2003.
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