Established in 1902, its principal aim is to increase the public awareness and understanding of science, engineering and technology, and their role in society, by means of various awards and by communicating the nature, processes, ethics, and excitement of science.
One of the most prominent scientists involved in the movement to establish S2A3 was Dr (later Sir) David Gill (1843–1914), director of the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, who was elected its first president.
Members met once a year in different southern African cities to present papers and tend to the business of the Association.
The annual meetings were discontinued in the nineteen-seventies, whereupon the Association's membership declined to its present level of around 100.
The presidents:[1] The Pretoria Branch of the Association arranges monthly public lectures on scientific subjects.