20/07/2016

Text and photos: Ariane Mondo – Ascom ISD

Broaden horizons and seek knowledge beyond school. This is one of the focuses of 2016 in all Science Education Centers (CECs) with the so-called environmental studies. The idea of this teaching is to take students beyond the physical limits of the school. This makes it possible for them to reflect on topics chosen in advance and learn, in practice, content related to chemistry and robotics.

This was the case of an experience organized by Alfredo J. Monteverde School Scientific Education Center Christmas, when students from the Science and Chemistry It is Science and Robotics At the end of the first half of this year, they visited a mineral water factory in the city of Macaíba, about 20 kilometers from Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte. In total, six classes from both scientific education workshops were able to learn more about bottled mineral water.

According to the coordinator of the Science and Robotics workshop, Itamar Nóbrega, a unit of classes was planned to be carried out before the visits. “We sat down, planned, replanned, had help from other fellow educators, who interfered in the set of classes. The planning process was really cool, as we talked a lot, we racked our brains to organize the logistics of the classes. We arrived at a lesson plan model that worked well and flowed well”, said Itamar.

The coordinator of the Science and Chemistry workshop, Celsulla Dantas de Araújo, explained that water is a topic already discussed in his classes and that this year there was the opportunity to experience it more intensely when he left school. “We already had work to analyze the quality of the water and who it was being distributed to. We try to understand together what public policies are behind an asset that is so important. I think that the studies in the CECs came to further support knowledge, bring students to reality and make them see that, in the case of water, there is an industry behind it and that there are questions to be asked”, he explained. Celsulla.

During the visits, the students asked questions to the environmental technician at the water factory, who explained what types exist and also talked about their properties. Attentive to details and with notebooks and pens in hand, they didn't miss any opportunity to ask questions. After the initial lecture, the students got to know the mineral water industrialization process up close, always taking notes that would be used for future classes at CEC Natal.

Rafael Afonso Sousa de Menezes, 13 years old, student of the Science and Robotics workshop at CEC Natal and in the 9th year of elementary school at a public school in Natal, said he found the experience of the visit very interesting. “Highlighting the water components and the machines used in processing. After that I will reuse water”, emphasized Rafael.

The coordinator of the Science and Robotics workshop explains: “In the case of robotics, we work on industrialization, the machine automation process, programming, water reuse. In both the robotics and chemistry workshops, students participated in the planning process, which was very positive for everyone's growth. They were able to observe that an experience in which they are going to participate can be thought out and organized in advance.”

After the visit, the coordinator of the Science and Chemistry workshop said: “Due to the students' involvement, I think it was really cool, because everyone was committed. Everything was planned with them. Doubts generated questions that were formulated beforehand, in the classroom, to be answered during the visit. Doing all this in a group was very interesting.”

The content learned during the visit was systematized in the classroom, which included the analysis of their homes' water bills. And a few days after the experience, the students organized what they learned and produced records with descriptions and photos of the visit.

Find out more about CEC Natal HERE.

Check out below some photos of the visit carried out by one of the classes and the student records that are publicly displayed at CEC Natal. More images in the Facebook album HERE.