A maiden science festival aimed to increase the knowledge of students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education was last Saturday held at the Ghana Museum of Science and Technology (MST) in Accra.
The festival dubbed 'SciFest' was organised by GHScientific in collaboration with MST and DEXT Technologies with support from the International Brain Research Organisation.
The festival which saw over 700 Senior and Junior High School students, including patrons as well as community groups and families were taken through some experiments, demonstrations, exhibitions, competitions, museum tours, poster presentations, science communication workshops and special talks by some renowned Ghanaian scientists.
The co-founder of GHScientific, Dr Thomas Tagoe, said the festival was designed to provide a memorable experience by combining scientific inquiry, education, and entertainment suitable for all ages.
According to him, GHScientific recognised the potential of students' curious minds and understands that when placed in a conducive environment, they could thrive in their exploration of scientific concepts.
Dr Tagoe indicated that the festival sought to set the tone for future editions by creating a culture of students and families engaging with science outside the classrooms in a family friendly environment that places value on positive experiences above all else.
"Many people think science is about school and work, but there is a lot of excitement and fun together with science. So this is to afford parents, students, children and families to experience science in an informal and fun way," he added.
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An Associate Professor of Neuropharmacology and Head of Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy at the University of Ghana, Prof. Patrick Amoateng, who was a guest speaker encouraged the students to explore more in other aspects of science and not just focused on one aspect in order to help them achieve a meaningful career.
"There are several aspects to science such as Pharmacy, pharmacology, testicology, biologist, and chemist among others. However, there are some people it is just about medico or suicide. If they don't get medicine it means they have failed in their schooling of science, but that's not so; you can explore other aspects of science to achieve a meaningful career in that area," he added.
The Head of the MST, Mrs Akosua Saah Buckmann, said the MST as part of its role was established to make science and technology accessible to the public, was to invoke scientific consciousness and heighten the interest of science and technology in school children.
She said the SciFest would afford the students opportunity to experience the practical aspect of the things learnt in schools and have knowledge about it.
Mrs Buckmann called on the public to visit the science museum and witness its rich scientific history which had been expertly curated
