The University of Zululand’s Physics Department applied to the University authorities for permission to open a Science Centre (“Exploratorium”) in the faculty of Science, at the end of 1982. Permission was granted and work begun early in 1983, with a donation from Old Mutual. The Unizul Science Centre (USC)was housed in an old laboratory on the top floor of the Zoology building. Prof. Johan van der Merwe of the Physics Department, with the assistance of other staff, ordered and built equipment for the Centre, which was opened on the 6th of November 1986. The Centre has been open continuously for the 25 years since then and was visited by about 3000 students annually whilst at the University. It comprised some 130 interactive exhibits.
Unizul Science Centre has been acclaimed locally, nationally and internationally, winning numerous awards in the field of Science Education. The Unizul Science Centre won the 2001 National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) award for the most outstanding contribution to Science and Technology by a non-profit organisation. Derek Fish, the Centre Director, won the 1999 NSTF award for best individual contribution and was a finalist in the 2010 and 2011 awards for Best Science Communicator.