To Boldy Go....to the Cape Town Science Centre!

The Cape Town Science Centre

Exciting times were had again here at TKW with synapses firing on all fronts. Teachers and students welcomed new arrival, Nina Deggeller, from Switzerland, to our wintry shores with a trip to the all-new Cape Town Science Centre in Observatory. (Incidentally, the eclectic and bustling suburb of Observatory will soon become the new home of TKW…so watch this space for news of our re-launch).

Previously located in Canal walk, where it had a successful run for 10 years, the Science Centre is now centrally located on Main Road, Observatory and close to all forms of public transport. And so, on the mini-bus from Rosebank to Observatory our excited science enthusiasts went. What some may find interesting is that the building which now houses the Science Centre is a heritage building designed by avant-garde architect Max Polincansky, who contributed much to Modernist architecture in our city in the 1930s and 1940s. With some of the original design elements still perfectly intact,  the Cape Town Science Centre promises to stimulate the senses on more than just a scientific level.

Paupette on 'Mindball'

Our group visited the centre with high expectations and left completely impressed and inspired. A vibrant, brightly coloured corridor which opened onto an expansive room filled with all sorts of interactive and sometimes mind-boggling exhibitions drew our group right in. There was something for everyone – a beautifully detailed train set, complete with little people; a giant chess set; a Lego room filled with Lego structures built by previous visitors; a life-size replica of Africa’s first astronaut, Mark Shuttleworth’s Soyuz space capsule, which surprisingly fits 3; an aerotrim machine which, if you did not already know, is a gyroscope large enough to hold a human; and Mindball, a game of mind over matter, where nothing but brain waves are used to move a ball across a table. Amazing, right? Well, our group certainly thought so. A few hours were needed to fully experience everything the Science Centre had to offer, though everyone unanimously agreed that it is well worth a second visit!

Patrick on 'Mindball'

             
Star Trek, a Sci-fi series first popularised in the 1960s made famous the following words: To boldy go where no man has gone before... For the 'Trekkies' out there, these words resonate with notions of exploration, and discovery. So, visit the Science Centre and it  may well get you all fired up and ready to explore your own uncharted territories!

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That’s how we Bowl!

They say bowling is a sport for people who have talent to spare, so when Friday Fun Day once again rolled around, we decided to foster a little healthy competitive spirit between our gifted pre-intermediate and upper-intermediate students.   The challenge: two games of ten-pin bowling to find out what they’re made of.

The Bowlers

The day started with an instructional video and a quick vocabulary lesson before being whisked off to the bowling alley via a speedy train ride to Let’s Go Bowling in Claremont. Once our two team names were decided it was game on.

The Cassava’s comprised Paupette Sterling, Erick Bondo and teacher, Jesse Jooste, joined by former upper-intermediate student, Prince Kamb. Playing for The Bowlers were aspiring TEFL teacher, Jamie-Lee James, Patrick Rozay (a.k.a. Patcho) and head teacher, Jacques Engelbrecht.  
  
After slipping into our nifty, new pairs of studded bowling socks (yes, they've done away with the smelly bowling shoes!) both teams were amped to leave no pin standing.

Morale was high and after the first round, even the gutter-ball gurus amongst us were in fine form having knocked over at least a few pins to add to the tally. 

The Cassavas

Patcho scored two strikes for his team, putting his team in the lead early in the game, while novice-bowler, Prince, did his team proud by bowling a total of five fantastic strikes! By the end of the second round, it was neck-and-neck, but it was none other than Jamie-Lee who saved the day for The Bowlers by bowling two strikes in a row! The Bowlers finished with a final score of 456 points to the Cassava’s 422, proving that it’s not about how you bowl…but how you roll!

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Culture Day at The Knowledge Workshop

“Rain, Rain, go away come again another day...” 

Kimchi, explained

But the rain did not go away, nor did the cold for most of last week. And so, as the Cape of Storms once again lived up to its infamous epithet, TKW was cooking up a storm of a different kind…

 

South Korean and Arabic traditional dress

We were in for a jam-packed week at TKW – a new group of fresh faced TEFL trainees were in attendance, ready to sink their teeth into the real meat of EFL teaching, and with chilly conditions forecast for the whole week, food and culture was decided upon as a theme to see us through to Friday, just to spice things up. (By the way, as you read this, see how many food idioms you can spot).

The South Korean corner

The trainees and students were put through their (idiomatic) paces, and before long Culture Day was upon us. Food being the order of the day, students and teachers went the whole hog and brought everything from soup to nuts to the banquet table. Melt in your mouth treats from Congo (DRC), France, South Korea, Greece, South Africa and Great Britain were enjoyed by all, proving once again that variety is indeed the spice of life!

France, represented by a scrumptious cheesecake

In a nutshell, we learned, we laughed, we ate. And in the words of Marcus Tullius Cicero, “Cultivation to the mind is as necessary as food to the body.” Some food for thought, I think.

Tucking in

We wish our latest TEFL graduates the best of luck as they set off on their teaching adventures to far-flung places. May they have many fulfilling teaching moments, so they can bring home the bacon J

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