After months of anticipation, Tsogo Sun’s Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) is proud to welcome the Days of the Dinosaurs exhibition, presented by YOU, DRUM and Huisgenoot. As the biggest exhibition of its kind as well as the longest running exhibition ever in South Africa, the interactive dinosaur expo inspired the SCC to celebrate the occasion by sharing this unique experience with children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to enjoy it.
A group picture of the Thembile Primary School children and teachers alongside Expo 24 and Sandton Convention Centre
On Friday, 27 June the SCC invited Thembile Primary School for a tour and lunch, complements of the convention centre. There was sheer delight on the faces of 50 children, aged between 12 and 14 years, and six educators as they walked through the educational expo.
The school is located in the Kagiso community on the West Rand and forms part of Tsogo Sun’s far-reaching corporate social investment (CSI) programme. The comprehensive programme focuses on the holistic development of children through sport, education and the arts – particularly youngsters from disadvantaged areas – teaching them a range of life skills over and above the fundamentals of participation and team work.
“Thembile Primary School has been part of the Tsogo Sun CSI programme for the past five years and has exhibited exceptional dedication, social development and passion. We chose the Days of the Dinosaurs exhibition as an opportunity to expose the children to a unique educational experience that fits with the educational development component of our CSI programme,” says Shanda Paine, Tsogo Sun Group CSI Manager.
The Sandton Convention Centre is proud to share this unique experience with Thembile Primary School, which forms part of Tsogo Sun’s CSI programme
The children were astonished by the many aspects of the exhibition, as the 12 prehistoric scenes came to life, featuring 45 life-sized dinosaurs, as well as two skeletons and seven dinosaurs in the interactive area. Each scene is constructed under the guidance of a team of palaeontologists, geologists and geographers, ensuring realistic and natural sequences of species quantities, sizes, movements and routines. The dedication to the scientific research and interactive possibilities ensured a realistic, fun and educational experience of the periods depicted.
“Thank you to Tsogo Sun and the Sandton Convention Centre for bringing me and my school mates to this exciting show, I have never experienced anything like this. I love dinosaurs but have only ever seen them on television. These dinosaurs move, are life sized and the tour was educational, we learnt so much while having fun,” says Nyebo Masiku, grade 8 learner from Thembile Primary School.
Say Dr Mati Nyazema, Executive Director of the SCC, “A trip such as this, which may well be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of these young children, is about exposing them to something that will broaden their perspectives and that, through its educational component, aligns strongly with Tsogo Sun’s strategic CSI framework.”
The Sandton Convention Centre team – pictured here, Janine Baltensperger (Events Manager, Sandton Convention Centre), Marius Basson (Director, Expo 24) and Vino Pillay (Marketing Executive, Sandton Convention Centre) are proud to share this unique experience with Thembile Primary School, which forms part of Tsogo Sun’s CSI programme
Commenting on the alignment of the exhibition with Media24’s content, Charlene Beukes, Media 24’s Weekly Magazines General Manager says, “Huisgenoot, YOU and DRUM magazines have been looking for a brand event that could span across all three brands and be as relevant to a family in Soweto, as it is to a family in Somerset West or Sandton. The educational part of the exhibition was also a big plus, as this is one of our key content pillars.”
