History
Sci-Enza is the oldest interactive Science Centre in South Africa. It was started in 1977 as an open laboratory in the old Physics building by Prof. Lötz Strauss, a professor in the Department of Physics. This open “laboratory” gave students the opportunity to “play” with scientific apparatus in an informal setting.

The Exploratorium, as it was called then, moved to the NW 1 building, and became a popular place to visit for the general public, school learners as well as students. The Camera Obscura, built on the roof of the Natural Sciences building in 1990, became a major attraction for all visitors to the campus. When the San Francisco Exploratorium trademarked their name, our Exploratorium was renamed to Discovery Centre @TUKS.

In 2001 the Discovery Centre moved to new, much larger premises in the Technical Services building and became a truly integrated Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) centre. In its new home the Discovery Centre @TUKS became the base for a number of outreach activities. Since 2005 the centre also has a new name, Sci-Enza.