Esri South Africa givesBack
Nurturing a passion for STEM learning
Today’s young learners are tomorrow’s decision makers. An understanding of geography and the use of geospatial technology will be crucial to helping our young learners make good decisions to support sustainable communities in South Africa. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Geography touches heavily on all of these disciplines, and the application of geospatial technology helps us to better understand cross-disciplinary phenomena and solve important community issues.
Esri South Africa is passionate about enhancing and improving STEM learning, and as such, supports the Lemek Foundation which hosts STEAM workshops for kids.
The STEAM workshop is designed for young learners to improve problem-solving skills i.e. to solve a problem in a logical as well as creative way through coding. Coding is a basic literacy in the digital age, and learners need to understand the technology around them.
Having children learn coding at a young age prepares them for the future. Coding helps children with communication, creativity, math, writing, and confidence!
An essential element in designing many geospatial systems is the choice of what programming language (or languages) to use. Many exciting geospatial projects involve at least some programming to customise existing tools or to develop completely new ones.
Geospatial developers need to be able to code to create a language that is understood by both machines and humans. Basic knowledge about programming language(s) is required.
The Lemek Foundation is a non-profit organisation, established to develop and empower previously disadvantaged communities. The Foundation’s mission is to create awareness of STEM learning for school-going children.
Lemek offers a STEAM-based workshop for kids between the ages of 7-12 years. The STEAM workshop is a great way to experience Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics in a FUN and IMAGINATIVE setting, focusing on Coding and Robotic fundamentals.
Classes are held at Esri South Africa Midrand offices, once a month on a Saturday from 8am to 1pm.
