Aspiring scientists from Cofimvaba recognised for monitoring a net-zero green science centre building

Aspiring citizen scientists from the local schools in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape have been recognised for contributing valuable data in the monitoring of the country’s first net-zero green building. The recognition, which formed part of the Citizen Science Day, was conducted on 19 August 2026 at the Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu Science Centre (ANSSC) in Cofimvaba. The Citizen Science Day is part of the post-construction monitoring and evaluation programme for monitoring indoor environmental quality (IEQ) at the centre to assess the optimal conditions for learning purposes within the classroom environment. The programme is led by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), which is implemented in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE), National Research Foundation-South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (NRF-SAASTA), ANSCC, participating local schools, educators, learners, and community members.

During the Citizen Science Day, the partners focus on the induction and training of the incoming learners joining the programme, while ensuring that the outgoing group of citizen scientists are equipped with a basic understanding of data analysis and acknowledged for their contribution to data collection. Both groups of learners are from the local schools, namely, Cofimvaba High School and St James Secondary School and participate in collecting IEQ-related data, which includes temperature, carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, sound levels, light levels, relative humidity, and occupant comfort.

Ms Tinashe Dube, Senior Researcher with the Smart Places Cluster within CSIR’s Infrastructure Innovation Research Group, led the training of the incoming group, guiding the learners on how to use hand-held devices, which include a 6-in-1 digital multimedia / environmental meter, CO₂ monitors and Android tablets equipped with a mobile application called the Building, Risk, Operation, and Design or BROAD, to collect IEQ data. Learners then used the meter to capture readings on the IEQ parameters and recorded the measurements through BROAD, which synced the data to CSIR’s servers in Pretoria.

Dr Coralie Van Reenen, research group leader for the Smart Places Cluster within CSIR Infrastructure Innovation Research Group, facilitated the data analysis component of the Citizen Science Day, targeting the outgoing citizen scientists who have been collecting data for the past six months. Using Microsoft Excel, she introduced the learners to basic data analysis, highlighting the importance of cleaning data as a first step to ensure it is accurate, consistent and reliable. She encouraged learners to make sense of the data collected, for example, probing reasons for changes in temperature throughout the study period (February to July, associated with the change in seasons), and correlating observed CO₂ levels to the number of people recorded in the room at the time the data was collected. The exercise covered all IEQ parameters across multiple classrooms at the science centre, building a broad picture of the building’s performance.

Following the training on data collection and analysis, NRF-SAASTA and partners held an award ceremony in recognition of the valuable contributions that the outgoing citizen scientists have made to data collection. Each of the learners received a certificate acknowledging their role in the programme. The educators from both participating local schools were also acknowledged (certificate of recognition) for supporting learner participation and ensuring timely data collection at the ANSCC.

Overall, the post-construction monitoring and evaluation programme focusing on citizen science has strengthened scientific literacy, practical research skills, and environmental awareness among the learners while contributing valuable data relating to building performance and environmental quality.

Classroom Acoustics Experiment

In 2023, learners from the local schools took part in an experiment evaluating the efficacy of different sound-absorbing materials in improving classroom acoustic quality, measured in terms of reverberation time and speech clarity. Four material options were temporarily installed and compared against the baseline reverberation, in an experiment aligned to the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. The findings were published in a paper authored by Dr Coralie van Reenen, titled “Classroom acoustics: a case study of the cost-benefit of retrofitted interventions”, in the Acoustical Society of America, which acknowledges the contributions of the learners or citizen scientists to this study.

https://pubs.aip.org/asa/poma/article/52/1/015001/2930327/Classroom-acoustics-a-case-study-of-the-cost

About the Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu Science Centre

The ANSSC is a state-of-the-art science centre commissioned and funded by the DSTI, which is equipped with advanced green technologies, including hydrogen fuel cell technologies. During the design and construction, the CSIR incorporated the latest sustainable technologies to maximise building performance. Through this building, the DSTI, CSIR and partners contribute to science learning by demonstrating how green buildings are designed, contracted, constructed and optimally occupied. The facility is designed to be net-zero energy, which means that it will produce more energy on site annually than it consumes – one of only a handful of buildings in South Africa to achieve this. The building is also designed to be net-zero water, harvesting more water annually than it uses. The centre serves as an educational facility that offers science awareness activities and exhibits on various themes, including space science and astronomy.