Girls, science and the perils of sharing water

Three hundred girl learners participated in a day of fun, interactive biotechnology activities organised by the Public Understanding of Biotechnology Programme (PUB) in Cape Town during the summer break last year.

This "biotechnology day" was part of a holiday camp for the grade 9-11 girls, mainly from rural areas, who are participating in an innovative R9 million project funded by the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA).

Prof. Valerie Corfield (left)
and Ms Khalipha Ramahlape.

The project was designed to improve the performance and participation of girl learners in mathematics and science, and to destroy the myth that girls can't do well in these subjects - an attitude that often results in them being discouraged from pursuing careers that require these math and science.

Alongside the promotion of science in schools, dispelling the myths that science is a male preserve and that it only takes place in a laboratory are some of the key activities of the Community Liason Office of the MRC. So Ms Khalipa Ramahlape, MRC Community Liason Officer, was glad to get involved when PUB invited her office to participate in the biotechnology programme.

Ms Ramahlape conducted workshops on the science and behavioural issues surrounding HIV/ AIDS and Prof. Valerie Corfield of the MRC/ US Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, conducted workshops on practical DNA extraction, as well as its applications in paternity testing and the solving of crime.

"Valerie and I forfeited being at the MRC staff Christmas party in order to be at the camp. I guess this shows how passionate we are about getting more girls excited about science," says Ms Ramahlape.

"The girls seemed to enjoy themselves a lot in the workshops, especially because most activities were interactive and forced the girls to tap into other skills or talents, such as when they had to dramatise how the immune system works."

This learning experience was reinforced later, when the learners had to make clay models of the immune system that showed an understanding of its function.

Another workshop entailed groups of learners modelling the spread of HIV by sharing randomly 'infected' glasses of water with each other according to specific rules. Some girls were told not to mix the water in their glass with anyone else's, while others were told to exchange a portion of their water with either one other person, or with many other people.

After some time, an indicator was added to each girl's glass, revealing whether or not her water had become 'infected'. This was followed by discussions around the relationship between behaviour and the spread of HIV.

"The workshop has many parallels with the real issues surrounding infection and provides teachers and learners with a less confrontational means of learning about HIV/ AIDS. Its success was evident from the level of productive noise that was in the room and the excitement as the girls conducted the experiment, said Ms Ramahlape.

"Altogether it was time well spent. Not only did the girls learn a lot about HIV, DNA and their immune systems, but I hope that many of them will follow science careers in the years to come."