Silverlea Primary STREAM laboratory launch
20 May 2021
Learners and staff at Silverlea Primary School in Athlone are ready and excited to take on the new 4th Industrial Revolution (4iR) following the opening of a brand-new Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Aeronautics and Mathematics (STREAM) laboratory at the school.
The STREAM laboratory was made possible by the Sakhikamva Foundation and the Polyoak Packaging Group.
The facility was furnished with robotics equipment, 3-D printers, drones, Artificial Intelligence (AI) kits as well as engineering and science kits.
Silverlea Principal, Sharon Coetzee, said the laboratory will promote a learning environment for children with talents beyond the traditional curriculum. “We will be
able to lay the foundation for Coding and Robotics at primary school level so that our kids will have programming skills that will make them eligible to high schools offering continuing education in the tech and IT field.”
Fatima Jakoet, founder of the Sakhikamva Foundation, said their mission was to create opportunities for learners to be skilled and ready for the world or work.
The Sakhikamva Foundation has started several projects at the school such as the Exolab-8 Astrobotany Project where learners explore space science by growing plants in collaboration with the International Space Station, the goIT Challenge which requires learners to identify a problem in their environment and find a solution for it, and robotics classes which will see learners compete in the World Robotics Olympiad.
Jakoet said she was blown away by the learners’ enthusiasm and curiosity as well as the commitment from the educators and principal.
Lezelle Scholtz of the Polyoak Packaging Group said it was important for them to invest in the next generation. “The STREAM labs will be fundamental in job creation and will make our children more employable in the future.
