Planting "K-Science" in Tanzanian Classrooms... National Busan Science Museum Recruits 16 for 4th Volunteer Group

16 Volunteers to Be Selected, Including 10 for Science Education

Over 3,200 Local Teachers and Students to Receive Training

Volunteers who will bring the gift of "science" and "hygiene" to classrooms in Tanzania, Africa, are departing from Busan. The National Busan Science Museum is recruiting 16 members for the 4th volunteer team to strengthen local science education.

The National Busan Science Museum (Director Song Samjong) announced on the 7th that it would be accepting applications for the 4th group of the "KOICA Tanzania Project Volunteers" with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) until 4:00 p.m. on the 13th.

This initiative is an official development assistance (ODA) project jointly promoted by the National Busan Science Museum and the Korea Institute for International Education Development Cooperation. Through the project "Tanzania Zanzibar Secondary School Science Experiment Capacity Reinforcement and Hygiene Environment Improvement Project," a total of 84 volunteers will be dispatched across six phases from 2025 to 2028.

Science teacher workshop in the field of science education.

Thus far, 38 volunteers have been dispatched: 8 in the first batch, 12 in the second, and 18 in the third. Over 1,400 teachers and students have taken part in the science education programs conducted by the volunteers, and more than 1,800 have participated in hygiene education. The team has also renovated five school water facilities and is pushing forward with restroom construction projects.

This 4th group will consist of 16 members: 10 for science education, 5 for hygiene education, and 1 for the construction field.

Recruitment for the science education field includes 7 young adults and 3 candidates with no age restriction, while hygiene education will select 5 young adults. The construction field will select 1 person without age restriction. The 10 positions for science education volunteers mark the largest recruitment to date for this field. Selected volunteers will participate in domestic training and local activities in Tanzania for four months starting March 2027.

Science education volunteers will conduct science experiment workshops for local teachers and organize science clubs and hands-on activities for students. They will also be responsible for designing teaching materials for experiments and updating operation manuals for science labs.

Hygiene education volunteers will run WASH clubs at local schools to improve awareness of hygiene, organize WASH campaigns, and develop educational programs. They will also work on digitizing educational materials. The construction volunteer will assist with projects to improve the educational environment, including school restrooms and water facilities.

All volunteers will support science and hygiene education focused on local schools, as well as participate in introducing Korean culture and producing promotional content.

Participants and volunteers of the science club in the field of science education posed in front of the camera.

This group of volunteers is part of the 9th KOICA project volunteer cohort. Any South Korean citizen aged 19 or older who is strongly committed to volunteerism, qualified for activities abroad, and meets the requirements of the host country is eligible to apply. The costs related to dispatch and local living expenses will be fully covered by the government.

Choi Junyoung, Head of the Education and Research Office at the National Busan Science Museum, said, "Based on the museum's expertise, we will actively support volunteers so they can plant and nurture the seeds of science culture locally. We hope many will take an interest and participate in this opportunity to experience the field of international development cooperation and share their expertise."

The National Busan Science Museum has been carrying out international exchange and cooperation projects in Africa, such as the elementary school science teacher capacity-building project in Ethiopia and the science sharing education program in Rwanda. Based on this experience, the museum was designated as the first national science museum to perform a KOICA ODA project and is now expanding its international development cooperation initiatives.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.