experiments in kindergarten

The future of technology-oriented societies depends to a considerable extent on their skills in the MINT subjects (MINT = mathematics, engineering, natural sciences, technology). This is the reason for many initiatives to get involved in early education. Interest in natural sciences, technology and mathematics is awakened and encouraged in children in day-care centers and elementary schools.

curiosity

Children are naturally curious and questioning – Why? – researcher. However, success in day-care centers and elementary schools can only be achieved if educators can transfer their personal enthusiasm for scientific issues to the children.

Cooperation of educators

Numerous employees in day care centers and elementary schools do not dare to actively participate in early education because their knowledge is insufficient and the experimental material and often the premises are not available.
In such cases, a senior with work and life experience - as a "sponsor" - can make a significant contribution to closing the knowledge gaps and also provide assistance in setting up a research box or laboratory.
The joint experimentation of educators, children and seniors is mostly crowned with success for everyone involved. The interest and enthusiasm of the children are the reward for the work of the senior and sponsor. There are no more grateful "employees"!

Started

Everything a sponsor needs to get started (documents, literature and experiment material) can be obtained easily and inexpensively. The " Children Research " Foundation (previously: "House of Little Researchers"), for example, provides all conceivable help to get started as a kindergarten sponsor.
Below are a few example keywords for Internet research that give a good overview of the environment associated with early childhood education in the natural sciences.

 

• Early scientific support in day-care centers and initiatives in the chemical industry
• VDI and scientific early education
• BASF and early science education
• Bayer and early science education
• Young Spirit - Evonik Industries AG

There is no magic recipe for starting an initiative at a daycare center. The future sponsor first chooses a day-care center whose management is interested in early childhood education and enthusiastically agrees to the suggestion of introducing experimental, scientific early childhood education in the day-care center. Day care center and sponsor develop a concept tailored to the infrastructure of the day care center and then the educator, children and sponsor start to carry out simple experiments. Nothing stands in the way of a further development of the cooperation up to the certification by the house of the little researchers.
This works, and the author of this text has already experienced this several times. Of course, getting started is easier if you have a sponsor. In my case, they were and are Degussa and Evonik Industries AG.

Heinz Delle