Why you must take your kids to Sci-Bono
Kerry Haggard is mom to the two most beautiful boys that ever there were. She juggles her roles of writer, mother, wife and daughter, and manages to keep the balls in the air most of the time. Follow her on Twitter @KerryHaggard.
I visited SciBono for the second time today – my four year old son Matthew asked that we come here on his birthday because he had such fun when we visited in December.
If you’ve not heard about it, SciBono is a playful science learning centre, located in Newtown opposite the Turbine Hall and the SAB World of Beer. I would not be exaggerating when I say that there are hundreds of interactive exhibits – there’s everything from a MIG replica and a replica of the Wright brothers’ plane to interactive science experiments that make understanding physics and electricity as easy as pie.
There are quite a few-related soccer games, so the kids can be active as well, and then there’s the Murray & Roberts construction site, where larger than life foam ‘bricks’ and ‘mortar’ are used by the children to build with – with the help of pulleys, bucket lifts and conveyor belts that they power themselves.
And that’s just the beginning – there’s really too much to describe in one blog post.
The several floors of exhibits are staffed by friendly people all dressed in bright orange jackets who will explain each exhibit to you, should you wish. They are also really good at keeping the place spotless, by asking politely that you refrain from eating or drinking on the exhibition floor.
There’s a lovely coffee shop with possibly the cheapest prices in Johannesburg – where else could you enjoy a 250ml cappuccino for R10, each served with its own decoration by a smiling gentleman who is pretty inspirational in his own right..
SciBono has a separate room for hosting parties – the children can have the run of the warehouse for the duration of the event, but you can keep your drinks and snacks and the all-important cake time away from the rest of the visitors.
This is really one of the gems of Jozi – it feels secure enough that mom could take her laptop or book and sit in the coffee shop and let the littlies have the run of the place – and they’re learning all the time, even though they’re not aware of it. My boys are 4 and 6, and love it, but we had guests in the early teens in December who had a blast too.
If you’re in Jozi over the holidays or over the weekend, and are stuck for ideas for things to do, this spot should be top of your list. And with adult tickets costing just R20, and kids over 6 costing R10 (under 6 are free), it’s affordable enough to visit several times.
Click here to find out more about the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre
Where to take your kids in Jozi: The Apartheid Museum
by Sine Thieme, a writer and mother of four who is new to South Africa and busy chronicling her experiences on her blog, Joburg Expat.
The world is so fast-changing in many areas of life that our kids don’t have much of a connection to what we, their parents, would consider the more recent past. They have no idea what a walkman is, they have never seen a phone that’s connected to the wall with a cord, and they certainly would chuckle at the idea of a “floppy disk.”
But while that’s okay in the realm of technology, it’s not such a good thing when it comes to history. If you’re a kid in South Africa today, you have no idea how different your life is from less than twenty years ago. Apartheid sounds like a technical term, and putting an end to it seems almost like a foregone conclusion from today’s vantage point.
Fortunately, there is a great way to bring this history alive, right here in Jozi at the Apartheid Museum. Especially older kids, anywhere from age ten upwards, will benefit greatly from a visit. In addition to learning a lot of new facts, they will experience what Apartheid might have felt like for those who lived through it
This point will come across right when they enter the museum. When you purchase your ticket, you are classified as ‘white’ or ‘non-white’, which will determine which entrance to the museum you must use.
It seems like a small thing, a little trick, but it actually has a profound impact to set the right tone. You walk through a cage-like structure with hundreds of replicated ID-cards on display, and you cannot help but feel a chill when you approach the race classification board at the other end.
From there you are channeled back to the outside where you walk among mirror-like displays of “ordinary people,”to contrast the rigid separation of the apartheid state with the free mingling of people of all races taking place today.
Some of the most haunting displays are life-size photographs taken during the various uprisings in black townships and the brutal response they elicited from the police.
Towards the end of the museum you will find a truck on display, the kind that was used by police to drive into townships and quell uprisings. It looks more like a tank and gives you a strong sensation of the power of the state versus the oppressed masses, but also of the fear most whites must have felt in the presence of so many black people.
While most of today’s kids were born after the early 1990s, adult visitors will be struck by how recent all of this history is. Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990. In 1993, he and then president FW de Klerk received the Nobel Peace Prize for their tireless efforts to ensure a peaceful transition to democracy. But during those few years in between South Africa experienced a lot of turmoil and it was not at all clear that any kind of consensus on the future of the country could be reached.
All in all, the Apartheid Museum is a worthwhile visit for your family. You could combine it with a trip to Gold Reef City, which is right next door – and “sweeten the deal” with the promise of roller-coaster rides after the museum “drudgery,” but it might be a bit exhausting to do both in one day.
