WCED Mobile Science Centre
The โscience vanโ has been taking the excitement of science to learners across the Western Cape and South Africa.
The WCED Mobile Science Centre is sponsored by the Western Cape Education Department and operated by the Cape Town Science Centre.
It is a Mercedes high roof panel van packed with boxes of puzzles and other goodies of scientific intrigue. Puzzles are compact and robust, and can be unpacked and spread out to accommodate a fairly large group of learners. The contents of the van can be changed easily to suit special requests or venue limitations.ย During a typical school visit, the hands-on puzzles are supplemented with science shows and demonstrations.
Since 2009, theย Inflatable Planetariumย travels with the WCED Mobile Science Centre and brings the wonders of astronomy to learners in the middle of the day.
The WCED Mobile Science Centre can come to YOUR SCHOOL!
Contact Yandiswa on 021 300 3200 or 083 276 9508 orย bookings@ctsc.org.zaย to make a booking.
Planetarium
The WCED Inflatable Planetarium is an immersive environment that promotes learning about our universe, planets, eclipses and inventions that helped shape the way we see the universe today.
Shows on offer:
Earthโs Wild Rideย (duration 20 mins, suitable for ages 5+)
Learn about solar eclipses, the ice age, volcanoes, extinction of the dinosaurs, the water cycle and food chains in this exciting show as seen from the perspective of a family living on the Moon.
The Secret of the Cardboard Rocketย (duration 20 mins, suitable for ages 5+)
Discover the planets in our Solar System in this imaginative journey through space in a cardboard rocket.
Two Small Pieces of Glassย (duration 20 mins, suitable for ages 5+)
Discover the history of the telescope and learn about the Hubble Space telescope, the radio telescope and huge land based telescopes in this informative show.
Practical Experiments
The WCED Mobile Science Centre outreach team also offers the following Grade 10 โ 12 formal and informal practical experiments at your school.
Grade 10
- Acceleration โ Motion in one dimensionย โ Letโs get moving and explore the science of motion in one direction.
- Heating and cooling curve of waterย โ Observe the change of state of water graphically.
- Electric circuits: resistance in series and parallelย โ Construct circuits and use ammeters and voltmeters to measure resistance in series and parallel circuits.
Grade 11
- Boyle’s Law – Investigate the relationship between pressure and volume.
- Endothermic & Exothermic Reaction โ Is it an exothermic or an endothermic reaction? Experiment to find out.
- Intermolecular Forces โ Boiling points, melting points, surface tension, solubility and capillarity.
- Newton’s Second Law โ Investigate the relationship between force and acceleration.
- Ohm’s Law โ Investigate the relationship between voltage, current and resistance.
Grade 12
- Conservation of Momentum โ Use a dynamics trolley and ticker tape to demonstrate conservation of linear momentum.
- Internal & Equivalent Resistance โ Build an electric circuit and use a known resistor to determine the internal resistance of a battery.
- Esters โ What are they? How do we make them? Discover the sweet smell of esterification.
- Titrations โ How to determine the concentration of sodium hydroxide using oxalic acid.
- Rates of Reactions โ An experiment demonstrating factors that can speed up a chemical reaction.