Expo winner now a London International Youth Science Forum counselor

2011 Eskom Expo for Young Scientists overall winner, Palesa Masuku, has been appointed a counsellor at the prestigious London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF).

Palesa Masuku

In addition to being the joint winner of the Eskom Best Female Project, as part of her prize Masuku also received the opportunity to travel to the Science Forum in September 2012, which is attended annually by some of the world’s best young achievers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation.

Her school, JM Ntsime High School, situated in a rural area near Rustenberg, also won the Eskom Best Rural High School award and received a mobile science kit valued at over R25 000 in 2011.

The LIYSF is a unique event and opportunity for top young science students aged 17 to 21 years old from around the world. Since 1959, LIYSF has welcomed young scientists to come together to learn, exchange views and opinions, and share knowledge.

Students also get the chance to visit some of the world’s leading university departments and industrial sites. A key aspect of the programme is the plenary and specialist lectures hosted by some of the world’s most renowned scientists who speak on a broad range of pertinent and inspiring topics.

Masuku, who wowed the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists judges last year with her idea of using marula fruit as an alternative energy source, says she is “over the moon” and will be grabbing the opportunity with both hands.

“Right now I feel very proud, honoured and privileged to be part of something so great. I can’t wait to play an even greater part in other scientists’ lives and to help and guide them to discover their talents and exciting career paths in science,” says Masuku.

Masuku, who had never been overseas before, says London is not too different from South Africa, but the experience was great and the opportunity to learn and share ideas with young scientists from all over the world, even better.

Palesa Masuku

Her role as a LIYS counsellor in 2013 will involve helping to take care of and guide other young scientists both at Eskom Expo for Young Scientists International Science Fair and the London International Science Fair.

Dr Steve Lennon, Eskom Group Executive on Sustainability, says Eskom is delighted and proud to be playing a part in grooming Masuku.

“Palesa is an excellent ambassador as she is a young person who has demonstrated a consciousness of the challenges faced by the people in her community, as well as the motivation to find creative solutions to those problems. She is also committed to helping other bright science minds such as herself and we are thrilled with her accomplishments and the maturity she has displayed since we first met her.”

Competition: win a copy of Supernova!

What are you doing to save energy? If you are 18 and under, let us know by leaving a comment below this post, or by emailing andrea@bkpublishing.co.za. You can win a copy of Supernova magazine!

Saving energy in our communities

Members of the Seven Schools Club

The Supernova team would like to make mention of two finalists in the Community category at the Eskom eta Awards 2012, especially because both projects involve children and 'greening' our planet - both of which are close to our hearts.

A joint winner in the Community category is Seven Schools Club from Nelspruit. This group of seven schools includes: Sakhile High School, Inkhanyeti Primary School, Khutsalani High School, Phatfwa High School, Sandzile Primary School, Embonisweni Primary School and Tsembaletfu Primary School. These schools joined forces to establish a recycling campaign. They have raised R5380 by recycling 16 244 kgs of waste, while 53 473.92 kilowatt hours of energy have been saved. How are you going to get your school involved in recycling?

Seven Schools Club

Seven Schools Club recycling station

The finalist we would like to mention is Bush Pigs Outdoor Education Centre. Supernova Editor Andrea Vermaak remembers going to Bush Pigs as a school learner and is proud that the centre does not only teach children more about the environment, but that they are looking after it too. 

Claire Warner (Wessa) and
Bush Pigs managers Steve and Kerry Baytop

During 2009, Bush Pigs was adopted by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) and joined the Wessa Eco-Schools' programme in 2010. After conducting an energy and waste audit of their own environmental practises, they started implementing sustainable technologies to reduce their energy use and carbon footprint, including geyser blankets, solar phone chargers, hot boxes and heat retention cookers, and fuel a efficient stove.

Bush Pigs recycling station

Bush Pigs compost heap

Bush Pigs greenhouse

Bush Pigs geyser blankets

Congratulations to both finalists and many thanks from the Supernova team for your massive efforts to teach our children to reduce their energy use. Supernova magazine backs you up all the way and we wish you all the best with your future energy saving endeavours.

Competition: win a copy of Supernova!

What are you doing to save energy? If you are 18 and under, let us know by leaving a comment below this post, or by emailing andrea@bkpublishing.co.za. You can win a copy of Supernova magazine!

Supernova team impressed with Young Designers at Eskom eta Awards

Publisher/Director Benoit Knox and Supernova Editor Andrea Vermaak were privileged to attend the Eskom eta Awards ceremony on 15 November. Among the winners of the prestigious annual awards were young designers who showed off their innovative ideas and initiative to save energy.

Daniel von Eschwege

All entrants in the Young Designers' 
category were very impressive, giving the Supernova team a new hope in the future of South Africa. The winner in the Young Designers – Individual category is Daniel von Eschwege (12), who designed a cost-effective solar water geyser system that can reduce a household energy bill by 40%. He hopes to produce these DIY packs and help poorer communities access hot water at an affordable price.

Daniel von Eschwege's solar water geyser

The runners-up in the above mentioned category are Daniella Oosthuizen and Keegan Cordeiro. Daniella designed a compost hot water system, while Keegan designed solar powered golf carts.

Girls Looking Forward

The Young Designers – Group category award went to the team of grade 8 girls, called 'Girls Looking Forward', from Bay College in Plettenberg Bay. The girls looked at how to reduce electricity consumption during cooking. By comparing cooking using a microwave, a stove-top and a clay oven, they found that using a clay oven is the most energy efficient method.

Girls Looking Forward

The runners-up are the Pretoria Boys High School team and the Cornwall College team. Ray Kruger, from Pretoria Boys High School, invented a way to generate electricity on a small scale directly from waste biomass through the process of gasification. Gregory van Wijk and Tyron Munn from Cornwall Hill College built a household electricity management system, the Angel Management System, designed to optimise use of the available electricity.

Ray Kruger

Ray Kruger's electricity generator

Gregory van Wijk and Tyron Munn 

The Angel Management System

We simply can't leave out the young designers of Bracken Hill EK Primary School from Knysna, who also blew us away with their initiative. To reduce their community's wood consumption, they developed a solar water heater for their school, using black pipe, as well as created a hotbox to cook and a clay oven that functions with just a handful of twigs and coal. The team also learnt how to make coals out of recycled paper.

Bracken Hill EK Primary School's solar water heater

Bracken Hill EK Primary School's clay oven

The Eskom eta Awards have been acknowledging and rewarding good work in energy efficiency since 1985, with winners receiving R30 000 each and the runners-up taking home R5000.

Dr Steve Lennon, Eskom Group Executive of Sustainability says: “South Africa is bursting with talent and nowhere is this more evident than at the annual Eskom eta Awards. More South Africans are looking for ways to save energy. Learners want to make a difference, householders are cutting costs, and engineers and large companies are working hard to reduce their use of electricity and save vital resources.” 

We can't agree more with Dr Lennon and want to congratulate all those who took part in saving energy this year!

Competition: win a copy of Supernova!

What are you doing to save energy? If you are 18 and under, let us know by leaving a comment below this post, or by emailing andrea@bkpublishing.co.za. You can win a copy of Supernova magazine!

Eskom Expo for Young Scientists - more photos

As promised, here are a few more photos of the amazing kids who took part in the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists...

Project: Albedo and groentetuintjies

Learners: Anneke Schoeman (Grd 12) and Renate Schoeman (Grd 10)

School: Overkruin Hoërskool

Project: Renoster

Learner: Willem Steinburg (Grd 11)

School: Hoërskool Nelspruit









Project: Pocket Charger

Learner: Tamian Gobind (Grd 9)

School: Zinniaville Secondary School


                                                                                                                                                                                       

Project: Sand and Sun

Learner: Piet Kotze

School: Eunice High School











Project: Fuel cycle of the future

Learners: Candra Naidoo (Grd 9) and
Yokesh Kanaya (Grd 9)

School: Hoërskool Generaal Hertzog

Project: Help Recycle

Learner: Karla Muller (Grd 7)

School: Lorraine Primary School



                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                         

Project: Culture

Learner: Cynthia Marota (Grd 7)

School: Sele Secondary School

























Project: Soos Musiek in my Ore

Learner: Jantjie Harmse (Grd 6)

School: Kruinpark Laerskool

 Congratulations to all the learners who took part! 

We at Supernova are super impressed!

*Photos by Jennilee Delport.

Fireworks and Guy Fawkes

By Carina Vermooten

“Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. We see no reason why gunpowder treason should be forgot.”

Since it is a national British holiday that everyone celebrates (or just use as an excuse to ooh and aah at beautiful fireworks), here is a short history behind the holiday and an explanation on how fireworks work.

On the fourth of November 1605, Guy Fawkes, who was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics, was caught in the basement of the British Parliament, trying to blow it up with gunpowder. Although the main goal of his group’s grand plan was to blow up Parliament, they also wanted to kill King James I simply because before he came into power, he promised to stop executing innocent Catholics like his predecessor Queen Elizabeth. Ever since then the British celebrated his failure on the fifth of November.

Fireworks 101

The Chinese invented fireworks as part of a ritual to ensure that evil spirits are kept away. As you watch a breath-taking fireworks display, three things are happening that you are not necessarily aware of: the fireworks have actually been designed so that they won’t explode, you’re witnessing how nature conserves energy, and while the fireworks are at their brightest, they are actually starting to cool down.

Fireworks are made out of two basic ingredients: black powder, which is a fuel source, and an oxidiser. The fuel source provides heat and the oxidiser speeds up the reaction. The slower the reaction between the two, the more beautiful the display.

The blend of ingredients has to be just right. The chemists use small, medium and large microns. To slow down burning, chemists use chemicals (microns) that are bigger in size and don’t mix them very well with the smaller microns because it makes the fireworks last longer and makes them brighter. What gives the colours to a fireworks display are the different metals used in the mix. Strontium creates red sparks, copper makes blue sparks, barium makes green sparks and sodium makes yellow sparks. You can also mix the chemicals and different colours will be given. Shapes in fireworks are made depending on how the creator arranged the chemical pellets in the containers.

Please be safe and careful tonight if you are planning on lighting some firecrackers and be considerate of neighbours and pets.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Natural Anomaly winner

Vumile and the Dragon
by Claerwen Howie

Congratulations to Imogen Cupido (10) who wins herself a copy of Vumile and the Dragon by Claerwen Howie, for her research on Dwarf Chameleons. Check out her entry below:

Cape Dwarf Chameleon
By: Imogen Cupido

The Cape Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodionpumilum), are native to Cape Town in the Western Cape of South Africa. The tongue is almost twice the size of its body, so it can catch insects that are a distance away. To do this, it needs a special muscle in the jaw.

When they are born they are identical mini versions of their parents. Unlike other chameleons that lay eggs, dwarf chameleons give birth to live babies. They are brown when born, and then they become green as they age.

 Cape Dwarfs are 2cm at birth, and when they are adults they can grow to15cm in length! When they are adults, they also have different patterns on their bodies, and some colours are brighter than others.

Cape Dwarf Chameleons are actually the largest of the Dwarf Chameleon species. They are normally very slow moving and they are very hard to see because they are camouflaged. If they get angry, they can speed up to 7 cm a second. If they get even angrier, they will inflate themselves, hiss, change colour dramatically and bite. They don't have sharp teeth, so their bite rarely feels like a slight pinch.

If you live in Cape Town, please be careful when using garden cutters in your garden so that you don't hurt one of these beautiful little creatures! And if you have a pet, be careful where it goes so it doesn't eat one! These animals are endangered.

These are not to be meant as pets, but if you want one you must make sure it is legal in your area.

The scientific name for this animal is: Bradypodion pumilum. Bradypodion means 'slow foot' in Greek, and refers to the 'stop-go' pace of the chameleon.

The tail of the male is slightly longer than the head and body combined. The females' however are slightly shorter.

Their diet consists of small grasshoppers, crickets and many other flying insects. They use
their long sticky tongues for this.

The colour may vary, but they are basically leaf green with an orange stripe on the side of the body and orange markings on the head. The Cape Dwarf Chameleon was first discovered in a shrubs and bushes around a vineyard.

Don't forget to enter the 'Natural Anomaly' in Supernova to win a copy of the impressive 1.5 metres unfolding, pocket pop-up book, Creepy Crawlies! All you have to do is do some research and write up some cool facts about whale sharks.

Send your entries to competition@bkpublishing.co.za or post it to Supernova magazine, P.O. Box 6314, Pretoria, 0001.

Supernova issue 7 is super cool!

Supernova issue 7 cover

Supernova recently celebrated its first birthday. Throughout the year we had real fun and learned a lot, so now that Supernova is older and wiser, we are proud to present the latest issue, issue 7. Supernova looks at the melting polar ice caps, the Voortrekkers, art, parasites, parkour and the always exciting and educational 'Nova Red List'.

Not sure what parkour is? Supernova will introduce you to the many different movements to ensure the realisation of becoming a parkour traceur. While parkouring might physically keep you busy, you can challenge yourself mentally by reading the fun and interesting facts and reviews, doing activities and entering competitions.

Supernova presents a brand new section on careers - in this issue it is all about art conservation. The ‘I wanna be’ section aims to open up a world of potential careers for you, introducing you to weird and wonderful job opportunities in a broad variety of interest areas.

Supernova always initiates attention to our environment and this issue is no different. The melting polar caps are the hot topic this time around. Also, find out about symbiosis which is a very interesting way to look at relationships in nature.

The ‘Reduce Reuse Recycle’ section partners up with Coca Cola and keeps our kids curious by giving them ideas and instructions on making bird feeders. So hurry before the ice melts and get your copy of issue 7!

Visit the Supernova website at www.supernovamagazine.co.za to subscribe or to locate your nearest retailer.

For more information, contact supernova@bkpublishing.co.za or call +27 12 342 5347.