Special Initiatives in Mathematics and Science Education
The Science Picnic is Europe’s largest outdoor event aiming to promote science. Since 2008, the Science Picnic has been organized jointly by Polish Radio and the Copernicus Science Centre. Every year, it attracts crowds of visitors to Warsaw. Scientific institutions, universities, research institutes, museums, cultural institutions, foundations related to science, and science clubs present their achievements and reveal behind-the-scenes aspects of their everyday work. They present science to audiences of various ages in a way that is easily understood with the aid of experiments, demonstrations, and interactive exhibits.
The 19th Science Picnic: “Light” was held at the National Stadium on May 9, 2015. Holding the event at the National Stadium made participation comfortable and convenient for scientists and visitors, and helped achieve a higher turnout than in previous years. More than 180 institutions took part from Poland and 16 other countries (including Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia, and Canada). The exhibits presented by research institutions and science demonstrators from Poland and around the world occupied nearly the entire outer ring of the National Stadium, the access routes to the ring, and some of the rooms within the building itself. The event attracted more than 100,000 visitors.
Between 2013 and 2015, the Copernicus Science Centre in cooperation with the Educational Research Institute conducted a project called Science Lab. The project consisted of several elements, including an evaluation of science education in Polish schools (i.e., the organization of the science teaching process, methods most often used by science teachers, teaching aids, teaching objectives, and learning outcomes of the science curriculum), the preparation of teaching materials (i.e., lesson scenarios and a database of good practices for science teachers to use during lessons outside the classroom), the preparation of guidelines for local authorities on what kind of science equipment would be most useful for science teachers in schools, and the preparation of guidelines for teachers, school directors, and the Ministry of Education. The Copernicus Science Centre plans to continue the project by supporting teachers, organizing teacher training workshops and activities, and promoting science teaching and learning in Poland.
In 2013, Fundacja CoderDojo Polska (the CoderDojo Poland Foundation) was established. It is a part of the CoderDojo network of free computer programming clubs for young people. At a computer dojo, young people learn how to code, develop websites, apps, programs, and games, and explore technology in an informal and creative environment. In addition to learning how to code, attendees meet like-minded people and are exposed to the possibilities of technology. There are seven computer dojos in Poland. The foundation promotes the idea of computer programming among children and teenagers as well as peer learning, youth mentoring, and self-directed learning. It is an active member on the Polish educational scene. Recently, the foundation provided advice on proposed changes to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) core curriculum.