The first Kenyan Schools Crystallography Competition, held on 25 January 2025, was an important step in introducing young students to crystallography and scientific research in general. Organised by a joint team from Spain and Kenya, and based on similar successful competitions held in Europe, this initiative aimed to stimulate scientific curiosity and hands-on learning among secondary school students. This competition was part of the “Learning how science works with crystals” program, which started with a teacher training workshop in November 2023.
More than just an exhibition of the grown crystals, the competition was structured as a scientific conference. Students presented their work to a panel of scientists who evaluated and scored the projects through posters, lab notebooks, oral presentations and a display of the crystals obtained. The competition was enthusiastically received and the students demonstrated an understanding of key scientific concepts such as solubility, supersaturation and nucleation. The participation, results and enthusiasm in the room confirmed the effectiveness of this activity in introducing students to STEM subjects.
The awards ceremony was held at the Chiromo campus of the University of Nairobi. In addition to the jury, represented by Dr. Patricia Gitari, the ceremony was attended by several distinguished guests, including Solomon Derese (FST, University of Nairobi); Martin Mbugua (FST, University of Nairobi); Juan Manuel García-Ruiz, (Donostia Internationa Physics Center); Fermín Otálora (LEC,IACT, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas); Ms. Natalia Suárez de Puga Canosa (Consul of the Spanish Embassy in Kenya); Dickson Andala (NRF Kenya, AfCA); Leonida Kerubo, Dean of the FST, University of Nairobi; and Santiago García Granda, President of the IUCr, who delivered his speech via videoconference.
The ECA proudly supported this initiative as part of its commitment to promoting science education and outreach. For more information, please visit the competition website: https://kenyancrystallizat.wixsite.com/blog
