ICGEB Cape Town partners with Droso4Nigeria through the donation of Foldscopes for school outreach activities across Nigeria.
Droso4Nigeria is a collaborative science communication initiative between a team of Nigerian researchers, Manchester Fly Facility, DrosAfrica, African Society of Drosophilists and SciComNigeria. Their mission is to help in societal and economic growth through developing Nigeria’s science.
The donated Foldscopes were utilised in various biology classes, positively impacting on the learners as well as the teaching faculty. The Foldscope, a paper microscope, with a magnification of 140x, costing less than $1, encourages the curiosity and excitement of Life Sciences, making science more accessible.
‘I visited some of the schools for feedback on the use of the foldscopes a couple of days ago, they were very excited and commented on the simplicity in assembling the parts, the ease of using it in the classrooms, making their lessons lively and reducing the expenses of practicals’ Dr. Rashidatu Abdulazeez, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
ICGEB remains active in school outreach across our Components. Our “ICGEB Alumni for girls in STEM” fundraising campaign is aimed at making science appealing for young girls in developing countries. Plans are underway to organise “Discover Science through the lens of the Foldscope” events, initially in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa, where we have a pool of active alumni and support institutes. The Cape Town Component continues to run these workshops to great effect.
