Science and technology awareness for preschool children: a working model

Abstract

Skills shortages exist in the areas of Science and Technology, not only in South Africa but globally. This creates a need for more people to follow careers in Science and Technology. We need to do something to make sure that we do not loose the opportunity to have a positive influence on the attitudes of people towards Science and Technology. The question that comes to mind is where and when to start? There is no clear answer to these questions, but what is obvious is that we cannot sit back and wait to see what happens in the future. Start today, learn from mistakes, but make sure to create opportunities where learning can take place. TekkiTots is an intervention to introduce Science and Technology to preschool children. Age appropriate content was developed and serves as a vehicle to introduce Science and Technology in a meaningful way to this age group. The primary objective of TekkiTots is to introduce Science and Technology to children between the ages of six and seven in a fun and hands-on way. Initially the intervention was aimed at the children in the preschool environment with the primary intent to encourage a positive attitude towards Science and Technology and create an eagerness amongst theses small children to explore Science and Technology avenues once they enter and subsequently leave school. This paper reports on how this work was initiated, who the collaboration parties were and how this collaboration panned out. In addition to the expected outcomes, the researchers observed some unexpected outcomes as well. In the paper unexpected outcomes are presented.