Ndiho Media

By Paul Ndiho

Many people say children learn best through trial and error. Here in the Kenyan Capital, Nairobi, – Discovery Center, a social enterprise, has come up with different ways to make science, math, innovation, and technology exciting and interactive. VOA’s Paul Ndiho has more.

It has been said that being passionate about your work is the key to success.  Daniel Gichuki Muhoro is no exception.

“For me, science is a big thing. It’s all was about passion, it was about fixing and solving problems from the time I was ten, or eleven. And even when there’re problems at home, my mom would say that Daniel will come to fix this.”

Muhoro’s passion triggered him to start Discovery Center where children are inspired to develop an interest in science. Science presentations, experiments, competitions, exhibitions, field trips, and computer programming.

“We make science and technology fun for children of all ages. Our mission is to star innovation, and we believe children’s innovation and inquisitive nature needs to be natural.”

Muhoro has turned his love for engineering into a business, this warehouse is now a creative hub for innovation.

“At the back of our lives, we’d like to impart life skills to children in logical thinking, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. But at the same time, we want to influence more children to take science careers.”

As Kenya becomes more connected to the internet, young people are finding new ways to hone their skills — and learning how to code to become computer programmers. Discovery Center is now part of a new infrastructure for children to develop their technology skills.

” We have a coding club where we introduce computers for kids of all ages. For example, we have seen some university student who has come to us and said I want to learn another skill like in Coding.”

Muhoro says through their coding club children also learn to develop life skills.

“In this country, if we don’t influence the children towards science, technology, and innovation they’ll get there but will be left out. All we want is to have an impact on the young generation where they can take careers in Science and technology and if they don’t still have important skills.”

Like any start-up company, Discovery Center is not without its challenges. Critics say that getting these programs rolled out in rural areas has been a slow process. But, Daniel Muhoro is hopeful that working with schools and organizing science fairs and projects will eventually pay off. He says the program has the potential to be replicated across the country.