Joburg now has Africa's biggest science centre

A donation of four new exhibits to the centre by Ile de France boosted the centre to this status on Monday. Ile de France and Gauteng signed a sisterhood agreement in 2001 which includes a wide co-operation programme in areas such as education, transport and security. The French province has now contributed funding and technical support from Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris which is one of the world's most prestigious science centres.

20 September 2006

The Sci Bono Discovery Centre in Newtown has become the largest science centre on the continent.

A donation of four new exhibits to the centre by Ile de France, the province in which Paris is situated, boosted the centre to this status on Monday, 18 September 2006.

Ile de France and Gauteng signed a sisterhood agreement in 2001 which includes a wide co-operation programme in areas such as education, transport and security.

The French province has now contributed funding and technical support from Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris which is one of the world's most prestigious science centres.

The four new exhibits at Sci Bono will be: a Science Village that focuses on communications, biology and technology; an electricity expo that teaches children how it is made, distributed and used, a mathematics exhibit to help high school learners to understand maths and physics and Me Games, and a collection of logic games that teaches confrontation, change and crisis management, strategic thinking, risk management, communications and team work.

These will be the first exhibits of their kind to be made under licence in South Africa and the French institute has agreed to reduce its costs for Sci Bono.

"These exhibits will not only provide a great stimulus to learning for hundreds of thousands of learners throughout Gauteng and South Africa, but will propel Sci Bono to greater heights within the science fraternity," said Kelebogile Dilotsotlhe, chief executive of Sci Bono.

In addition to the four exhibitions, a new website has been launched in co-operation with the Gauteng Education Department (GED), the City of Johannesburg and the BHP Billiton Career Centre. Total South Africa has donated R640 000 to the project.

Mallele Petje, head of GED said his department had given the Sci Bono Centre R12-million this financial year for operational costs.

"Through initiatives such as this, together with steps being taken within our schools to enhance the learning of maths, science, technology and entrepreneurship, we hope that learners' interests will be stimulated in the understanding of science and technology," he said.

It was the "maintained political will" of Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa that had allowed, since 2003, the introduction of the first science centre to the city of Johannesburg, said Janine Haddad, vice president of the Ile de France regional council.

"France's participation in this is a pledge of excellence and quality in the realisation of the co-operation programme between the two cities."

- Anna Cox, The Star