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Science on the playground

Hosted by OSOS , contributed by Anabela Cavalheiro on 7 May 2019

The project aims to promote the area of the school playground, developing the scientific spirit. Three activities will be carried out, corresponding to the last three months of the school year. April – make a mini-planetarium (scale of distances and size of the planets) and mini-conferences by the pupils of the class; May- equip the playground with a bats’ shelter and raise awareness for the protection of these animals with mini-lectures in the classroom and June- "Around the Sun" with a solar observation through a solarscope; cooking with the use of a solar oven and different experiences with the temperature and shade.

In these activities twenty pupils and four teachers participate as organizers, covering a community of 244 pupils (3-10 years), 18 teachers and 11 operational assistants.

 
Learning Objectives
To promote scientific knowledge.

Starting from the school plan and surrounding area, pupils identified several hypotheses that would improve their school. They were proposed to build a sundial, a bat shelter, a planetarium and organize a project for garbage collection. From the various proposals, the first three were the most voted.

After being voted by the pupils themselves, it was chosen the possibility of stimulating science activities in the school playground, which already includes some of the initial proposals.

We are a very dynamic group in the area of sciences and we have decided that we could share our knowledge in this area with the rest of the school community.

For the first activity in April, the pupils carried out a Mini Astronomy Park (temporary), in the playground of the Antonio Gedeão School. This initiative was sponsored by the Ciência Viva and ESERO Portugal-European Space Education Resource Office. The pupils promoted the Park with mini-lectures for the other pupils of the school. In the May activity, parents built a bats shelter. We count on the collaboration of the City Hall of Entroncamento to install it. Pupils will hold mini-conferences about their protection, with a scientific sponsorship from the Alviela Living Science Center. In June, the activity will be about the theme "Around the Sun". In this activity pupils will show a solar oven working, observe the Sun through the Solar Scope and perform various experiments regarding the influence of the Sun in our world.

For this activity we will have the scientific sponsorship of Constância Living Science Center.

The promotion of this project is being carried out in the School’s own communication media; in the media, Facebook and in the "pass the word" by the experience and testimony of the pupils involved. The feedback is very positive.