The common perceptions that bedevil science education include:

• Anything that is fun is probably trivial and not educational;
• Asking excellent questions or posing problems is a waste of time.
• The best way to teach kids is by telling them everything;
• Small children have small minds and we must wait until they are much older before we engage them with the principles of science and technology;
• One can teach real science only with formal textbook equipment;
• Manual labour is demeaning. Pure science is something one practises in a neat laboratory or office; and
• If the matric exam is purely theoretical, why bother to do experiments?

On countless occasions we get frantic telephone calls from teachers who say that they cannot teach science because they don't have laboratories. This frequent mantra reveals more about our teachers — as well as the psyche, phobias and fractious teacher training that surround science education -- than it does about their facilities. Too often there is the perception that laboratories will rectify the problem even if the teachers are unwilling or incapable.

To counter the "we don't have a laboratory" argument, we have devoted ourselves to producing dozens of amazing experiments and hands-on exhibitions with everyday objects.

Puppet theatre
We have elected to use a novel approach to the exciting job of selling science to children: instead of aiming our message at school-leaving matriculants (which is what most institutions do), we decided to focus on the younger generation, using informal activities such as puppet theatre to grab their attention. Undoubtedly, many observers probably wondered whether we were no longer capable of handling more cerebral matters. But puppets offer an excellent teaching alternative.

The shows require a great deal of preparation, scriptwriting and rehearsals but, after a few performances, they get better and better.

The use of a serial character such as Doctor Stinks (a popular nickname for the chemistry teacher in many schools) or Granny Gruesome gives the children an excellent point of reference and they always enjoy taking sides in the banter between the puppet and a purposely fumbling demonstrator. Puppets can easily pull off what a normal presenter would be hard-pressed to do. Believe it or not, our puppet theatre is a powerful magnet not only for tiny children -- even high-school learners and adults are often captivated.