Doing Science in a little town, what kind of Hero will you be?

I grew up in the dusty township of Alexandra, “Sandton extension”, in Johannesburg; playing with my older brothers and creating toys out of trash and plant materials, and anything we could find. What a joyous time of my life, walking and playing outside, learning and assimilating the world around me. It turns out, I was a rather peculiar child in my family. I was filled with deep curiosity about my world, I raised and bred pet pigeons, was known to chase lizards and rats around, and best of all-swatting flies and feeding them to some ant colonies that I could find around the house. It was such a treat! Did it have any impact on me becoming who I am today, you bet!

I did not have science heroes or science capital, that could determine my current path of life, or even the trajectory I am currently on. According to Professor Louise Archer of University College London, Institute of Education “The more science capital you have, the more you see yourself as a science person – and the more likely you are to aspire to do that as a career”. Science capital refers the extent of science-based information a child experiences, is involved and exposed to in their family, schools and general attitude around it. Where I grew up, I did not have such heroes. It was the love of nature, the nature tv channels and excitable science teachers that fueled the fire in my heart to become-well, first thoughts of becoming a medical doctor, then a zoologist. But, how do you become, without the science capital? How do you dream and imagine and learn, and see yourself as one-when there "is" not a hero in sight to inspire you?

My STEM leadership and engagements led me to many communities where young children viewed science as something far from them. Termed difficult, inaccessible and for only clever children who go to affluent schools. Not me, here in ga-Mashashane, Pearston, Alexandra; I don’t stand a chance-No one here makes it that far! I am of the belief that I made it onto the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders largely due to my community engagement, sharing science in accessible and relatable ways, and most importantly, being a picture that represents those who come from where I am from. Those who are shaped by the same communities I come from.

In this journey, I was connected with my fellow, Xolisa Ngubelanga, a creative thought artist as I like to define him.

Together, we came to change perceptions around science in the lesser reached community of Pearston, in the Eastern Cape; a marriage of Science and Arts. After all, STEAMI (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics and Innovation (STEAMI) is the true marriage of the arts and the sciences, and I believe our Sara Baartman Creative Scientists completely embodies this concept.

On my arrival in the rural town of Pearston, I was met with so much love, acceptance and openness. There was a willingness to learn and engage, and I loved to be seen as a member of the community. It made my engagement and the impact, the possibilities, all the more real. With my best Xho-ZulEnglish (Xhosa, Zulu and English), I attempted to communicate with the children. I felt that I needed to reach out in a non-condescending way, I needed to be one with them, they needed to see their big sister, or aunty, I needed to be part of the community.

We started our activities with a Fast Maths Skills Japanese method that I learnt years ago in my time at Kobe University in Japan. Maths is a hard topic to teach or engage in. It sparks fear and lack of confidence, and one needs to find fun ways to get the methods taught and grasped effectively. The goal was to increase awareness and accessibility, also knowing where these principles are applied. I later introduced chemistry concepts such as freezing point depression, from these principles, we made 5-minute ice-cream using salt, ice cubes, food colouring and cream. We followed this with a biological sciences concept, DNA extraction and tracing DNA as forensic detective. We solved the most difficult crime, “cattle theft”. I was very impressed at the level of engagement and understanding of the concepts.

We are in the 4th industrial revolution, STEAMI is the future and our response to novel economies, the jobs that do not exist yet, economies and markets that do not exist yet. Are we ready? The gap is STEAMI in SA is widening, largely to poor resource pool of teachers and resources to enable effective teaching and training. Our communities need science heroes to develop the skillsets of our young kids. We need Heroes who look like them, who look like me, to come and bring these concepts home, to show that it is possible. The quote goes ‘You become what you see”.

Science is not represented well in our underprivileged and under resourced communities. We need to take appropriate actions to ensure a better reach, to assist our government to increase reach. Science and Innovation are the bloodline of our future. Science is connected to and valuable in everyday life.

As you read these beautiful reflections by the learners, know that the left and the right of the brain need each other; arts and logic make a great combination. Through the art, knowledge is passed on and assimilated.

"Everyone who remembers his own education remembers teachers, not methods and techniques. The teacher is the heart of the educational system”

~Sydney Hook

"First day we were introduced to our teacher whose name is Palesa who is a scientist and specializes in plants-insects, she can be referred to as an entomologist. I must say she is quite a beautiful lady and what I personally liked about her is that she is very generous, attractive and warm hearted because I loved her since I laid my eyes on her because she has got that motherly ability. What is unique or different about her is that she is a patient lady who does not easily get tired of kids because I know that we as kids can sometimes become irritating and naughty and reckless. I also noticed the love she has for what she is teaching and tries her best to make us understand what she is saying and be entertained at the same time because she knows that us kids love playing we easily get bored of studying all the time."~Asemahle Dinge - Grade 10

It is not everyday that I can count so many blessings in on email. Thank you Pearston, thank you beautiful children, thank you Stellenbosch University and United State of America Department of State for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Social Impact Award.

I am forever YALI, Mandela Washington Fellowship!!

Your favorite Myrmecologist,

Dr Palesa Natasha Mothapo

Research Manager and Scientist, Stellenbosch University

2018 Mandela Washington Fellow (University of California Davis)

2020 Inspiring Fifty Women in STEM South Africa