13.07.2011 | International Educational Project Experimento – Kick-off in Berlin

Scientific education is one of the keys to future viability and social development for countries around the world. It requires an understanding of science and technology that comes from learning through discovery – a principle promoted by the internationally active Siemens Stiftung with its new project Experimento.

Experimento focuses on practical teacher trainings using experiment kits for classroom instruction. The project will be launched in Germany at the end of 2012.

With Experimento, the Siemens Stiftung is using its expertise in STEM- (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education to develop three experiment kits that can be used internationally and that cover all aspects of the topics of energy, environment, and health. How can I clean up polluted water? Where does electricity come from? How important is food for my body? With sequentially structured content and tailored to various age groups, Experimento supports a continuous transfer of knowledge. Application-oriented trainings for education professionals form the basis for using the experiment kits in the classroom. They also learn methods for inspiring children and adolescents to independently engage with natural phenomena and technical correlations through experimentation.

Ulrike Wahl, Chief Operating Officer of the Siemens Stiftung:
“It is difficult to imagine formulating answers to global challenges such as climate change, scarcity of resources, and health without technology and innovation. That’s why a timely STEM education is so important for a society’s future viability. With Experimento, our goal is to provide teachers with instructions and materials for practical, holistic scientific education that challenges children and adolescents to think for themselves and creatively work out possible solutions.”

Project start in Berlin

The international educational project Experimento was launched this week in Berlin with a training for Chilean educators from the Chilean school network SIP (Sociedad de Instrucción Primaria), Red de Colegios. Its many years of experience in education in Chile have made SIP a recognized authority. The Siemens Stiftung training focuses on using experiments to teach children aged four to seven. The pedagogical team will return to their own country and act as multipliers equipped with the project's concept and 30 experiment kits. “We’re all familiar with the scientific curiosity of our youngest children in the areas of water, light and hearing. They would like nothing better than to try everything out by themselves. Experimento from the Siemens Stiftung helps us to unleash their curiosity and encourage it in a playful manner”, says María José Castro Rojas, pedagogical director at SIP, Red de Colegios.

In addition to other institutions in Chile, the next destinations for these teacher trainings and experiment kits will be local educational institutions in Argentina, as well as German schools abroad and their regional partner schools in Africa.

For further information, see www.siemens-stiftung.org

For contact information, see http://www.unicat-communications.com/newsroom/siemens-stiftung-detail.html,k13