Nelson Mandela Bay whizz-kids on the money at science fair

Second time was the charm for Ndzondelelo High School matric pupil Liyema Nenemba, who earned a silver medal and R250,000 from Siemens at the 39th annual Eskom Expo for Young Scientists International Science Fair in Johannesburg.

The 18-year-old’s learning programme, which simplifies geometry, earned him the recognition and has turned the school’s science lab pipe dream into reality.

He was one of three pupils from the school in Zwide who achieved podium finishes in their respective categories.

Using recycled materials, Liyema created an instrument resembling a cylindrical mathematics set to develop his research.

The instrument may be used during a lesson to illustrate the centre of a shape or depth and size of an angle.

“Since teachers use the textbook and chalkboard, it’s difficult for some pupils to comprehend what is being taught because they do not see in dimensions,” he said.

“When the teacher says this is the centre, or these two sides are equal, they don’t believe it, because it does not look like it.”

He said having taken part in 2018’s fair he had known what to expect and had thus been more confident.

“My presentation went really well, and I received positive feedback from two judges.

“The third one gave me pointers to improve on, which I will most certainly look into.”

This was his last Eskom Expo science fair, but he said he would love to see his project being developed and integrated into learning programmes.

Fired up from Friday’s award ceremony, where he also received a silver medal, Ndzondelelo grade 11 pupil Muziwakhe Mafuna said taking part in the fair had been a memorable experience.

Muziwakhe developed a fire-retardant from corn cob ash aimed at stopping the spread of fires, or reducing their intensity, particularly in informal settlements.

The school’s third medal winner, grade 10 pupil Aphiwe Sikweza, said he had set goals for himself and the first on the list had been making it to the science fair.

His project, titled “Golden berries to the rescue: A new fertiliser”, was aimed at identifying a fertiliser that would not cause nitrification, the oxidation, as by bacteria, of ammonium salts to nitrites and the further oxidation of nitrites to nitrates.

Aphiwe won a gold medal and a R750 cash prize and the award for best project in the agricultural sciences category earned him a further R2,250, which he said he would use to upgrade his project.

“I was very confident in my work regardless of competing with 600 other people from SA and around the world,” he said.

“I was sad on Thursday when I did not receive special awards and I was even more anxious on [Friday] when my name wasn’t called out for a bronze or silver medal.

“They were well into the gold medals when they finally called my name. I was very happy,” he said.

School principal Dan Ncape, who was on hand to welcome the pupils home at the airport on Friday evening, said the boys had represented both the Eastern Cape and the school well.

“Pupils come and they go, and when these leave Ndzondelelo they are leaving behind a legacy,” Ncape said, adding that the new lab would take the high school to new heights.

Eskom Expo executive director Parthy Chetty said it was most inspiring to see such brilliance from young pupils in South Africa.

“There were many more gold medals attained this year, which also indicates that the quality of regional science fairs across the country has improved,” Chetty said.

Eskom’s general manager of risk and sustainability, Andrew Etzinger, said the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists challenged pupils to think logically and to be creative and innovative when addressing issues and problems faced in their own communities.

National Eskom Expo for Young Scientists spokesperson JeVanne Gibbs said 17 Bay pupils had participated in the 2019 event, and the full list of medal, bursary and special award winners would be distributed later this week.