Watch us, the mighty Mopani young scientists!
2008-10-14
Our young scientists have once again represented the Mopani region with remarkable success at the annual Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, a national competition to promote scientific interest in the youth. Under the baton of Mary Raganya, Mopani region’s expo coordinator since 2005, the small but mighty Mopani region monopolised the prizegiving ceremony in Pretoria. The national expo was held last week (2-4 October), attracting 700 finalists with 480 projects, 15 of which were from Mopani.
Topping the bill was Marguerite Boshoff, a grade 11 learner at Merensky High School in 
Tzaneen, who has done well at national level in previous years. This year she scooped a gold medal and four special prizes with her project “Proudly Indigenous”. Marguerite’s special prizes were: the Prestige medal by Professor S Meiring with a R20 000 bursary to study at the University of Pretoria in 2010; the Best Plant Science Project, awarded by the University of Pretoria with R500 cash; the South Africa National Biodiversity Institute Award with a book on indigenous plants; and the Derek Gray Award for Entrepreneurship with R2 000 Trust Fund and scholarship.
Curtis Moodley and Mohamed Gani, grade 7 learners at Kingfisher Private School in Phalaborwa, proved that mathematics can be fun by measuring the Earth with a yardstick, earning their project a gold medal.
Out of the hundred energy projects exhibited, Thabang Moretsele, a grade 9 learner from Frans du Toit High School in Phalaborwa, unleashed his potential by winning a silver medal.
The overall Mopani results are as follows:
Out of 15 projects representing Mopani, ten won medals: four learners won Gold, three Silver, and three Bronze. Mary Raganya says, “Well done, guys! You made us proud. We thank you for your commitment and hard work”.
She continues, “Our sincerest thanks to all the educators and parents for their continuous moral and financial support. Without their shared support, we would be far worse off as a region. Wishing you well over the next year!”
“I must further single out and commend Eskom and the Palabora Foundation for diligently pursuing the vision of the Young Scientists around Mopani in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), which are the cornerstones of our youth today”.
For more information about the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, contact Mary Raganya (Eskom Expo Regional Coordinator for Mopani Region) on 015 769 5047/5055.
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Run with assistance from the European Union