Play Africa and Goethe-Institut launch Science Film Festival in South Africa

In October, more than 300 children in Johannesburg’s inner city will take part in a dynamic global film festival that aims to be accessible, entertaining and fun.

The Science Film Festival aims to inspire a new generation of scientists through film screenings and related play-based learning activities. It will take place at several locations in inner-city Johannesburg, bringing the wonder and awe of scientific subjects directly to children in their own classrooms and communities.

Play Africa, a children’s museum based at Constitution Hill, will use the film screenings and related activities to promote science literacy and build awareness of scientific, technical and environmental issues through films and hands-on educational activities.

“To help create the South African scientists of tomorrow, we are making science fun and accessible to all children,” said Play Africa programme manager Mpho Tsele. “Through Play Africa’s partnership with the Science Film Festival, we are showing children that they don’t need a lab coat to be a scientist. Science is all around us. It’s in the colours of the rainbow, it’s in how our food grows, it’s in the water we drink and how we recycle.”

Since its inception by the Goethe-Institut Thailand in 2005, the Science Film Festival has become one of the biggest film festivals worldwide, with over 1 million visitors. It is organized in each country by the Goethe-Institut in close cooperation with local partners.
“The Science Film Festival presents scientific issues in an accessible and entertaining way to a broad audience and demonstrates that science can be fun for children from all ages,” said Dr. Nadine Siegert, Head of Culture & Development at the Goethe-Institut South Africa. “Through the festival, we are continuing our work in the field of science education as we did with the I am Science project from 2016-2019. We are very happy to have found a project partner in Play Africa who is as enthusiastic about children’s education as we are.”


The programme has received additional support from Rand Merchant Bank and Constitution Hill and Care for Education, and will provide a unique, hands-on learning experience to at least 300 children.

This year’s theme is the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were created to be a “shared vision of humanity and a social contract between the world’s leaders and the people.” The ambitious goals to fix climate change, end poverty and fight inequality and injustice were designed to motivate citizens, not just policy-makers.

“Play Africa wants all children to know they can be changemakers,” said Play Africa CEO Gretchen Wilson-Prangley. “We see children as full citizens in our society, who are learning the skills today to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. We want all children to know they can play a role, however small, in responding to the Sustainable Development Goals.”

This is the second year that Play Africa has partnered with the Goethe-Institut South Africa to bring the Science Film Festival to children in Johannesburg. Wilson-Prangley said the team had to get creative in an era of COVID-19.

“Last year, we welcomed children and families at public screenings at Constitution Hill,” Wilson-Prangley said. “This year, we’ve developed an innovative solution by partnering with inner-city housing companies, so we can offer relevant, meaningful educational experiences to children in high-rise apartment buildings. We want children to know that science is all around them, wherever they are, and that a lifelong passion for science can be ignited anywhere.”