Conducting real science

Is there any better way to teach science to the young than by letting them conduct research on their own ?

Within an educational project called « Research Project », young campers are conducting their own research project, taking into account ongoing research worldwide. In other words they contribute a brick to the universe of science and they do not just copy what has already been done.

You may think we have an ambitious approach to science if we compare it to the Physics Olympiads (science contest organized in France) in which high school students just copy best-known experiments. Still, we can achieve this goal ! Moreover, campers take many advantages from this new approach.

If being in touch with researchers is highly recommended to conduct a science project, we do not carry out research experiments with expert researchers every day, which could be very difficult to implement. Indeed, if we had daily contacts with researchers, there would be many drawbacks : everything had to be explained to all new campers every week, and this would lead to a waste of time ; moreover topics would be too technical to Campers, etc.

But many experiments related to many research fields can be carried out by young campers, or even by fans, on their own or together with science tutors. The most important point is to give campers the appropriate research means to achieve the goal. Let’s take the example of a Geology Science Camp Summer camps
camp Les colonies de vacances ne sont plus ce qu’elles étaient, c’est à dire énormes, anonymes et sans activités précises. Heureusement les choses ont changé et les enfants qui ont vécus il y a 20 ans les premiers camps de vacances, qui à l’inverse des colonies de vacances proposaient des stages de qualité au grand air et bourrés d’activités intelligentes, ont grandis et sont devenus eux-mêmes
organisateurs de séjours de vacances intelligentes et hors du commun. Ces
séjours, vous les trouvez sur ce site... for young aged 16 to 18. The research project deals with magmatology, the given methodology to achieve the goal is “going to a volcanic island” or “thin sectioning in rock samples”. Science tutors provide for the experimental approach and general work schedule ; the extraordinary research means are provided by our partners in labs. Expert researchers come and work half-days teaching in some project phases (1 up to 3 half-days for each 21-day camp Summer camps
camp Les colonies de vacances ne sont plus ce qu’elles étaient, c’est à dire énormes, anonymes et sans activités précises. Heureusement les choses ont changé et les enfants qui ont vécus il y a 20 ans les premiers camps de vacances, qui à l’inverse des colonies de vacances proposaient des stages de qualité au grand air et bourrés d’activités intelligentes, ont grandis et sont devenus eux-mêmes
organisateurs de séjours de vacances intelligentes et hors du commun. Ces
séjours, vous les trouvez sur ce site... ) or provide their expertise via a hotline either by email or by phone.

The research job can also deal with a topic on which an expert research team is working far away from us. As our starting point is a research topic conducted by a team in a camp, campers can therefore meet researchers (see above text).

Campers do contribute a brick to Science, even if their brick is a small one. Their research project is very rich indeed, because the most important point is that THEY have CONDUCTED some research, and they have not just listened to the expert researcher explaining about his/her job. They have not visited the researcher’s office, but they have worked together with him/her, with fun, and making research with fun makes the whole difference ! As far as their retransmission is concerned, it is more than a last day’s performance, everything is planned, timed, and may give rise to questions, a high-quality article is posted on the Camp web site and may be published in technical magazines. Campers may even be given the opportunity to take the floor during an expert conference accordingly.

The most passionate campers can continue their research project at home. At that point they can have more ambitions, if they are given the means to achieve their goals – the foremost means is to believe in it : results obtained by our campers can be used then by expert researchers successfully.

Read the following example to show it may all come true : some years ago a group of campers aged 16-18 wanted to build a remote-controlled model submarine to explore Lake Geneva water and bed, on the Swiss bounder. No sooner had they begun their project in their club than researchers working in an official observation and exploration research centre told campers they wanted to use their submarine in their research because it was the key to a problem they had been facing for many years when observing fish in the lake. Expert researchers did not just have the time to find out the best solution or could not design it, and our Campers could then realize they were “able” of…

If you wish to support our Association, you can give our flyers to friends or colleagues !

[See our science camp catalogue>rub2]

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date de publication : 5 janvier 2009,
date de dernière mise à jour : 24 février 2009