At the University of Bremen, there are currently ten school laboratories – from biology to general sciences and social studies, from elementary school to high school. At the annual Children’s University during the Easter vacation, children can also make use of the services offered by the school laboratories. The Senator for Children and Education of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Dr. Claudia Bogedan, took the opportunity to inform herself about the work in the laboratories.
School Laboratories Present Current Offers
Senator Bogedan attended the workshop “Designing geometric patterns on the computer” in the “matelier”. There, pupils experience lively mathematics from the first to the 13th grade. Teachers also receive inspiration and new ideas for inspiring math lessons. Together with the children, the senator tried out creating complex patterns from basic geometric shapes on the computer. In the “TechKreativ” school laboratory, Bogedan was given an insight into offers that, among other things, are aimed at gaining initial experience with programming and 3-D printing. TechKreativ is the university’s FabLab (Fabrication Laboratory) and offers young researchers a wide range of opportunities to try out new forms of learning and design with digital support.
Arousing the Spirit of Research at an Early Stage
The school laboratories for natural sciences of the university introduced themselves together in the Gro-Harlem-Brundtland laboratory. With three school laboratories for chemistry, two for biology, and one for physics, the university offers an important infrastructure in the state of Bremen to introduce children and young people to free experimentation – often with better opportunities than at local schools. Encounters with scientists also promote their natural spirit of research and make the university an exciting, practical learning location.
“I would like to be a pupil again today,” Bogedan sums up enthusiastically. “The labs manage to ignite the inquisitive spark and make knowledge tangible.” By also conveying concrete ideas about occupations, the programs also provided valuable support for young scientists in scientific occupations and degree courses.
Cooperation for More Experimentation in the Classroom
For more than ten years, the university has been cooperating closely with the Bremen authorities via the school laboratories. The Senator for Children and Education supports this work on an annual basis with consumables and funds for student employees.
Thematically, the school laboratories especially focus on the areas of mathematics and natural sciences. In the future, more experimental offerings from the humanities and social sciences as well as from the field of digitization are to be added.
Additional Information:
www.uni-bremen.de/de/kooperationen/uni-schule/schuelerinnen-und-schueler/schuelerlabore/ (German only)
Contact:
Isabell Harder
University–School Transfer Coordinator
University of Bremen
Tel.: +49 421 218-60393
E-mail: isabell.harderprotect me ?!vw.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
