Experimenting at the Novartis Pavilion
As part of the SimplyNano Project: Northwestern Switzerland, a SimplyNano 2 experimentation course was held at the Novartis Pavilion on February 8, 2023. 17 teachers received an introduction to the SimplyNano2 learning media and had the opportunity to conduct nano experiments independently. By means of an interactive career presentation, the participants gained insights into the career opportunities at Novartis AG and ideas for possible school class visits to the Novartis Pavilion in Basel.
Fostering enthusiasm for STEM subjects
The SimplyNano 2 project aims to promote enthusiasm for STEM subjects among young people in the upper school. The SimplyNano 2 cases contain materials and documentation with which pupils can carry out exciting experiments on nanotechnology and experience it as an interdisciplinary everyday technology. The project also aims to build a bridge between school and professional practice. For this reason, the introductory courses for teachers take place at interesting company locations. With the Novartis Pavilion, Novartis AG offered an extremely exciting setting for the further education course on 8 February 2023.
Playful learning in the Novartis Pavilion
Opened in April 2022, the Novartis Pavilion is a meeting place for an exchange between industry and the general public. The architecturally appealing building aims to create space in which visitors can experience playful learning. Marcel Braun, Head of the Novartis Pavilion, gave the audience an overview of the attractive opportunities that the Novartis Pavilion offers for school class visits.
The "Wonders of Medicine" exhibition is a multimedia exhibition that invites playful discovery and provides an insight into pharmaceutical research. In the SchoolHub, an interactive offer for school classes, the various professions are presented in addition to medical and scientific topics. An offer that met with great interest among the participants.
How does a smoke detector work?
Afterwards, the teachers were able to carry out individual experiments from the experimental kit on their own. The air-cushion-forming plant Salvinia molesta was enthusiastically examined, and the adhesion of a mobile phone to the gecko pad was tested. A smoke detector was used to explore the Tyndall effect. According to feedback from those present, the simple but illustrative experiments were found to be extremely exciting. With little material effort, the SimplyNano experiments can be used to inspire pupils to engage in exploratory learning. "Super exciting experiments with everyday materials" was one of the participants' responses.
Final spurt in the "Simply Nano 2 Northwestern Switzerland" project
The continuing education course was the sixth of a total of eight courses in Northwestern Switzerland. The remaining two course dates (22.02.23 and 22.03.23) have also met with broad interest. Only a few places are still available. In the introductory courses, teachers receive not only the experimental part but also valuable introductions to the use of the entire learning medium (learning workshop for learners, documents for teachers and USB stick).
As part of the "Northwest Switzerland" project, all secondary schools in the cantons of BS, BL and SO will be equipped with class sets of a total of 900 SimplyNano 2 experimental kits. The project is financed by 39 partners. Novartis AG is supporting the project as a Gold Partner.
Source: Innovation Society
Image source: novartis