Children and pupils interacted with the various activities in the camp with great interest, especially that some of them combine entertainment and learning, such as the Magic of Science workshop.
After a 3-year hiatus due to the Corona pandemic, the activities of the science camp , which is supervised by the "Scientific Association of Morocco", returned.
This edition of the camp was held from 7 to 15 August under the slogan "The Fun of Discovery", and 65 children and 15 officials and organizers participated in it.
Moaz Al-Deeb, director of the science camp, told Al Jazeera Net that "this is the first version after the Covid-19 crisis, and it is the first opportunity for a generation that lived 3 difficult years of ban and legalization of movements and gatherings, to benefit from the camp's collective activities and integrate into normal life."
Simplifying science for young people in the first place
With its scientific activities, the camp aims to simplify some scientific concepts for the beneficiaries and explain them in ways appropriate to their ages, in the fields of health, space, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and renewable energies, and to acquire scientific thinking skills, and to help them self-access to scientific knowledge from its sources.
In addition, the camp seeks to enable participants to distinguish between facts based on scientific foundations, apply the method of organized scientific research, and understand the scientific principles of innovations and inventions, while demonstrating a positive attitude towards science and appreciating the role of scientists, and directing young people to reading, learning and serious scientific research.
Hassan Talbi, a professor in secondary education and one of those working to simplify and disseminate the culture of science in Morocco, and one of the camp supervisors, enumerates for Al Jazeera Net, in the light of his experience, a set of techniques on which the concept of science simplification is based, the most important of which are:
Avoid complex details and stick to the general principle of the phenomenon to be presented.
Stay away from everything that exceeds the level of the child and his cognitive abilities.
Building on the children's previous acquisitions in school or in daily life.
Relying on the data of the observed reality and the viewer.
Relying on experience and embodying information on the ground.
61 beneficiaries and 15 facilitators (science camp) participated in the 3rd edition of the science camp
Children presented their scientific ideas within the science camp program (social networking sites)
Talbi points out that "the aim of simplifying science is to raise the level of knowledge of children, consolidate the scientific information they have studied and prepare them for what they will study later, then strengthen their curiosity, open their horizons, motivate them to access scientific disciplines, and empower them with the basics of scientific research such as observation, proposing hypotheses, verification of them, experimentation, etc.
Various activities
In addition to simplifying the sciences, the camp program included a variety of recreational activities distributed between the camp’s internal space and external spaces (gardens, visits to institutions, administrations, and the beach).
Among the camp children's enjoyment of a series of trips and visits to tourism and entertainment inside and outside the region, lessons in health awareness and rationalization of the culture of consumption, and hygiene campaigns inside and outside the camp.
They also competed in sports, fitness training, various individual games, and cultural and recreational competitions, with a focus on achieving educational goals through them.
The participants were also trained to practice various professions such as home and car electricity, mechanics, carpentry and plumbing, and light home repair and maintenance.
61 beneficiaries and 15 facilitators (science camp) participated in the 3rd edition of the science camp
Discovering and nurturing scientific talents
The science camp also worked on nurturing scientific and creative talents, providing materials and devices for conducting scientific experiments, and helping children understand some scientific phenomena using educational educational methods appropriate to their mental and age abilities.
Moaz al-Deeb, director of the science camp, says that this year's edition was organized by the association with its own efforts, unlike the previous two editions, which were organized in partnership with other governmental and non-governmental organizations.
He added that this version coincided with the scarcity of rain precipitation, and with multiple environmental crises, which made it an opportunity to work on these phenomena and raise awareness of them and their causes.
In order to support these emerging talents of children and students in the field of science, the association, through this camp, presents models of scientists to be role models for them, by reviewing their careers, fields of work, scientific achievements and the historical context in which they lived.
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EDUCATION
