Schools, sustainability and smelling of skin

I actually played down the numbers from yesterday; we managed to entertain approx. 400 children in shifts at a school in Accra from 8 am - 1pm and then a theatre group in the afternoon. Both were very different audiences and highlighted some of the challenges of teaching science in Ghana. 


The international school children were interested and quick to ask questions but had limited knowledge of the Universe and were excited to make constellations and Apollo Command modules. At the theatre group it was an entirely different story and we had to quickly adapt our dry presentation to overcome the language barrier and the fact it was the middle of the day. 


So we used drama to recreate the big bang, black holes and the solar system (with balloons!) and went on to have a much livelier session. This gave us an insight into how an outreach tour to rural communitites would be like though - language problems, limited knowledge of astronomy and a mix of ages and abilities. 


Which leads me nicely on to what will happen next. There is a real appetite for astronomy in Ghana and science in more general so it seems a shame to leave it here. With the Institute of Physics opening a centre and training science teachers as well as interest in planetaria from other West African countries we're starting to think about what to do next.It was great meeting the University students and getting the infrastructure in place for further study but to have an impact, astronomy and an interest in science needs to reach children before they give up on science at school or choose their A-level equivalents. 


So watch this space and if you've enjoyed this blog and have some ideas or interests in this area then please get in touch. 


And finally, the smelling of skin...this happened in Akwidaa at the coast where an eight year old who had grabbed my Obruni (white person) hand and subtly tried to smell me to see if I was different. She then took one step further and tried rubbing her arm onto mine to see if the colour would transfer to my arm. She looked quite bemused when I stayed the same colour...ah well. 


So adieu, goodbye and see you all soon for more adventures. 


Laura