Cool, educational places to visit this year

Looking for some fun back to school activities to inspire and help shape young minds? Then, visit one of these educational places and show your kids that learning can be so much fun!

GAUTENG

Not only is this Southern Africa’s largest interactive science centre, but it’s also affiliated with the Gauteng Department of Education in support of maths, science and technology education in the region. Yet, more than just ticking all the right educational boxes, the excellent exhibition and practical experience around science will surely provide plenty of fun while learning important things. The centre also offers amazing birthday party services in a dedicated space-themed venue. Warning: the science fun will get you too, parents!

Housed in a magnificent sandstone building, the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History is one of the oldest in South Africa and also regarded as our country’s leading natural history museum. So, naturally, a visit here is a must! Especially to see Mr Ples, the 2,3 million year old fossil skull believed to be a distant relative of all human kind. There are also all kinds of different natural history exhibitions that will blow young minds, including a reconstruction of a Deinonychus dinosaur (which was allegedly used in the Jurassic Park movie!). There’s no going wrong with a visit here.

We’d like to call this place the Smarties of science centres because you and your kids will most likely leave saying “What a lot I got!” The centre might just look like an obscure building from the outside, but inside you’ll find more than 250 interactive science exhibition and mind-boggling puzzles. There are also hands-on displays, science shows, and science and maths workshops. One thing is certain of this centre: no one (including parents) will be bored here!

And while you’re in the area, pop next door to the Heart of Cape Town Museum at Groote Schuur Hospital to learn all about the world’s first heart transplant of 1967.

 

 

What child doesn’t like to gawk at the moon and the stars out there? Wait, let’s rephrase: what human isn’t fascinated by it? While there are observatories scattered across the country, we strongly recommend a family trip to one of South Africa’s best observatories in Sutherland: this little Karoo village is renowned for its unspoilt environment that makes it ideal for gazers to see some of the most impressive stars ever. Well worth the drive.

It might be one of our country’s smallest museums, but it’s certainly one of the busiest with nearly 300 000 visitors making their way through the doors annually. And for good reason too: the Durban Natural Science Museum is talked about for the realistic dioramas, its life size T-Rex model, a near-complete skeleton of the extinct Dodo and, of course, an authentic Egyptian Mummy called Peter Amen. A journey back to the origins of Africa is just a visit away.

 

Children of all ages will marvel at this centre’s 3600sqm’s interactive exhibition area where anyone can learn more about seven specific sciences: automotive, electrical, lights and optics, flight, momentum, life sciences and construction. Another exciting part is that the centre also has green screens and motion activated exhibitions, and a climbing wall for the brave at heart.