Steenberg Primary pupils see their ‘dream machines’ being built

Grade 7 pupils from Steenberg Primary School had an opportunity to let their imaginations run wild and see their visions turned into reality in a collaboration with Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students.

The partnership was made possible by youth project MyMachine South Africa.

“Our mission is to help children believe in their potential and teach them that they can be the architects of their future. We want to nurture not just their future-making skills, but their passion and purpose. They are learning to think critically, adapt quickly, and dream big - qualities that will serve them and society well into the future,” said Suné Stassen, CEO of Open Design Afrika which co-owns MyMachine South Africa, with The Initiative for Community Advancement.

The organisation partnered with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and the Zeitz MOCAA’s BMW Centre for Art Education to pilot a project where pupils teamed up with third-year industrial design students to design and build their “dream machines”.

Each child was asked to imagine and design a machine they truly want that solves a problem or brings joy to their or other people’s lives. The students from CPUT then took these imaginative ideas and worked closely with the children to turn five of them into functional prototypes - helping the students convert their theoretical skills into practical machines.

Retired Steenberg Primary School teacher, Nicolette Frank, was instrumental in ensuring the success of the project even though she has retired from teaching after a 40-year career.

“The collaboration resulted in five incredible machines, forever working and changing lives at Steenberg Primary. I’m grateful to have been part of this journey and to see such opportunities bring hope and positive change to our community,” she said.

Reflecting on the project, school principal Dan Jansen said it was incredible how it brought together different groups to enable creativity and innovation in young minds.

“This is an inspiring example of how combining different strengths can lead to great achievements. A memorable moment was when the students brought the machines to school and learners could experience it first-hand as well as sharing their creativity and innovation with their peers,” said Mr Jansen.

“Being chosen as a pilot school is a great honour as well as opening doors for schools to participate in this programme. Our children are our future and they deserve every opportunity to be part of dictating their future.”

The creations, a time machine, the JellyCycle recycling robot, an emotional support bear, the dream machine which is a water filtration concept and a CrunchBunch clean-up bot, are on display at the school for pupils as well as the wider community to check out.