Cool Science for Young Scientists Erasmus Project

Project Title

Cool Science for Young Scientists

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Natural sciences; Environment and climate change; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

The project started off and followed the plan in a mainly consecutive fashion. Due to timing of meetings and pupil trips, some parts of the programme were brought forward earlier than originally planned.
The project was launched in each school in early September. Countries were introduced and the content of the planned project was outlined and explained. This was shared with the whole school communities and also shared via social media and word of mouth with the whole local communities and further.
There was a logo competition held in each school and a winner was chosen within each school and prizes awarded. At the first project management meeting, which was held in Ireland, there was one logo chosen as the winner from all the finalists and it has represented our project throughout the two years. It was a pupil from the Hungarian school who was the artist/designer. That logo is on our website and any letters and project newsletters that were sent out to families. It was also on products such as our science experiment book. The Turkey team even got official postage stamps created in the country with our logo – that was a huge achievement! There have also been hats with the logo, aprons and t-shirts!
Each school got a mascot and diary and then each mascot (teddy) set off on its route to each of the other six schools at the time of the first meeting in Ireland in October 2017.
There was a great reception for the visiting teachers to the Irish schools in October 2017 and this set the bar for the exchange trips and transnational project meetings that followed. There were school visits, project meetings and cultural visits.
The work on the water part of the project began. Pupils in each school worked on experiments related to this and the pupils who would be going on the first trip to Hungary were very serious and hardworking about preparing to showcase their projects in for of a large audience of international pupils and educational staff.
The first trip for pupils was in Hungary. We brought 6 pupils even though e only had budget for 4 pupils. There was a very good schedule for the week there and the pupils were very involved in activities connected with the water theme of our project. The pupils from all the partner schools got to present the experiments they had been working on in front of the large group. We also visited a hydro-electric power plant and a waste water treatment plant. There were other great activities such as a trip to the Eco-park and the palace of miracles which was like an interactive science museum Centre.
The experiments with fire then began in our schools in preparation for the next trip. This was to Marburg in Germany. We had budget for 2 pupils but we brought 4. Bente had prepared a great week for the pupils and teachers and the experiments on fire were presented in the main school hall, There were many other connected activities all week, including, spending a day at the forest school and doing bushcraft amongst other things.
The next science theme of the project was air. We enjoyed learning all about air back at school. All pupils from 4 to 13 year were involved. We visited a wind farm and had a very informative talk there. 6 pupils were chosen to go to Slovenia even though we had grant for 4. They had a great trip there and had many good outdoor activities as well as lots of games and fun with the Slovenian pupils. The ex[eriments on air were all presented to a large group and the children learned a lot by watching the experiments the pupils from the their partner schools had prepared and demonstrated.
One of our objectives was to enable our participants to better understand the nature and environment we live in. We feel we have done this in man ways throughout the project by engaging in the many experiments and visiting places such as the drinking water treatment plane, the waste water treatment plant, the windmill farms the HEP plants etc.
There was great communication between the participants which led to a greater development of European citizenship.
We feel very confident that the work carried out over the length of the project has absolutely met with the objectives and gone beyond in many instances.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 140454 Eur

Project Coordinator

Holy Family NS & Country: IE

Project Partners

• Regenbogenschule Ebsdorf
• Sadik Gocen Anadolu Lisesi
• Gaelscoil na gCeithre Maol
• 1 Gymnasio Mytillinis
• Kossuth Lajos Gimnázium és Általános Iskola
• Primary School Ig