With many learners battling to attain good results in science subjects at primary school levels, B2 Gold Namibia Mine has pledged to come up with initiatives to spark the science passion in learners.

It is for this reason that B2 Gold Namibia unveiled the Little Shop of Physics minibus at Otavi Primary School.

The Mobile Lab on Wheels science and physics initiative has been in operation since 2017 in all regions.

At Otavi, the school bus will be accessible to over 1,000 learners, with a greater focus on Grade 7.

Social Investment Manager at B2Gold Namibia, Ignasius |Awaseb, says, "What we do from our side is we bring a dynamic that is very practical and that is hands-on. So through this programme, kids are able to explore science. They are able to engage with it, and they're able to come up with their own scenarios in terms of if one thing is explained in theory, let's say forces, for instance, then what does that practically mean, and they work through a systematic practical programme that will give them an answer at the end of the day. So it's a fun way of bringing across the practical side of what is taught in classes across the Namibian curriculum and across the country, and as B2Gold, we believe that it is our duty and our responsibility to empower young kids so that their minds are basically stimulated to the point where they can, you know, come up with solutions."

|Awaseb stressed that the mobile bus lab has proved to be a success and has overcome the traditional barriers to exploring and learning physics in schools.

Otavi Primary School Principal Paula Haimbodi welcomed the initiative at the school.

"As we know, science is supposed to be a practical subject, but due to the fact that we don't have these facilities and apparatus , we tend to teach it theoretically, which makes learners less likely to prosper and achieve better than they are supposed to. Now with this initiative, definitely it will change something because teachers and learners are being exposed to some of these experiments, and it will make it easy for our learners because they learned practically, and when it comes to theoretical knowledge, at least they have practical knowledge."

Haimbodi added that the initiative comes at the right time, as the learners are preparing for the test series at the end of the school term.

The Science on Bus initiative is a concept originating from the US meant to encourage learners to thrive in the science and physics fields of study.