Young learners in Serbia brainstorm questions
During the five-day program, each child will experience and explore science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM), with each camp focusing on specific local challenges and ideas driven by the learner’s interests.
The children’s science camp has been specifically designed into the CPN program to give young learners the opportunity to discover science, the scientific method, the scientific way of thinking, and to meet an array of experts working in various scientific fields. During the children’s science camp, learners – in the company of their peers – will spend five days in an improvised lab. Here they are divided into teams and look for answers to questions they have about the scientific world. This multidisciplinary STEM program is traditionally organised in Belgrade biannually during the summer or winter vacation, but this year it will travel across Serbia to other locations to involve even more learners.
The first camp was organized in Šabac, where children had the opportunity to explore the sounds of science. 25 young learners were divided into four teams, with each team conducting their own research on a specific scientific topic. From this research, the young learners transformed their research results into sound installations. On the final day, families, teachers and the general public were invited, and participants – now young scientists – presented their work in the interactive sound exhibition. The second children’s science camp took place in Kikinda with the science of water being the topic of choice. This topic was chosen due to Kikinda’s well-known water pollution problem. During this camp, children combined a scientific approach with arts aiming to understand their own roles and contribution within the community. The next science camp will take place in Smederevo, focusing on local air pollution problems.
Young learners in Serbia testing out their sound exhibits
These camps just scratch the surface, as this year alone there will be a total of ten camps in different locations across Serbia. Most of the camps will be organised in collaboration with local science clubs. Every science camp will also include science communication training for local science communicators. The newly trained science communicators will excel their knowledge during the science camp, helping the children imagine, create and communicate their projects, exploring the world of STEM to transform themselves into young scientists.
