October 31, 2019 | Awakening curiosity for research: Teachers from Africa visit DLR

Inspiring students with STEM

• Since 2000, pupils at the DLR_School_Labs have been able to experience science up close. The aim is to spark enthusiasm for the natural sciences through first-hand experimentation in a large laboratory. Teacher workshops on the latest teaching approaches developed in the school labs, and recent DLR research findings, are also offered.
• DLR and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs have invited 14 teachers from nine African countries to Germany to take part in an international workshop.
• The aim is to highlight new exciting and interactive ways to teach scientific topics.

Since the first DLR_School_Lab opened in 2000, children and young people have been able to experience science up close in 13 school laboratories. Every year, 40,000 pupils visit the DLR_School_Labs. Workshops for teachers are also held here, with a total of 1000 teachers taking part each year.

In cooperation with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), DLR is now holding a one-week teachers' workshop (27.10. to 03.11.2019) for teachers from several African countries. In particular, the workshop will focus on introducing participants to new methods for promoting young scientists in the natural sciences. The teachers were selected by the United Nations’ African Regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education. The event was organised by UNOOSA, the UN’s International Relations Department and DLR_School_Labs.

During the workshop, participants will visit the three DLR_School_Labs in Cologne, Bremen and Berlin. There, they will play the role of the pupil as they conduct numerous hands-on experiments. They will also observe school classes visiting the laboratory and learn about experiments that they can carry out with their own school classes using readily available resources. The programme also offers the opportunity to exchange ideas with teachers from German schools and culminates in participation in the DLR_Raumfahrt_Show in Berlin.

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Contact

Martin Reynders

German Aerospace Center (DLR)
German Space Agency at DLR
UN affairs
Königswinterer Straße 522-524, 53227 Bonn

Volker Kratzenberg-Annies

German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Education, Outreach
Linder Höhe, 51147 Cologne

Dr Joachim Post

German Aerospace Center (DLR)
International Relations