Maropeng sponsors Sci-Enza art and poetry prizes

Scholars enjoy the activities on the opening day of Sci-Enza’s Discovery Darwin competition

Maropeng is the proud sponsor of prizes for the two winners of the Sci-Enza Discovery Darwin art and poetry competition.

Sci-Enza, the oldest interactive Science Centre in South Africa, launched the competition on February 11 2009, the day before Darwin’s bicentennial. Learners from a school in Pretoria visited Sci-Enza on the University of Pretoria campus to mark the launch.

The learners were enlightened and amused when they discovered many fun facts about the English naturalist, Charles Darwin, who proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection. Some of the interesting facts the kids discovered about Darwin is that he was married to his first cousin, he almost lost his job due to the shape of his nose, he found Shakespeare “nauseatingly boring” and that he was, above all, a remarkable scientist.

“The Discovering Darwin art and poetry competition aims to let learners discover the amazing contribution that Darwin made in the field of natural science and also to allow them to relate their own experience of nature, science and the world around them to his work of exploration and scientific investigation,” says Rudi Horak, manager of the Sci-Enza Science Centre.

The winners of the best poem and best artwork categories will receive a prize sponsored by Maropeng and their classes will enjoy a sponsored trip to the Maropeng Visitor Centre. The winning artwork and poetry will be on exhibition at Sci-Enza and Maropeng.

“Maropeng is about edu-tainment and we are honoured to support any organisation that shows kids just how exciting fossils and bones can be,” says Maropeng Marketing Manager Erica Saunders.

For more information about the competition contact Rudi Horak at 012 420 2865. Entry forms are available online at www.sci-enza.up.ac.za.