The "Junior Researchers at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg" network is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its STEM education activities at day-care centres in the district this week. From rooms in the Kunsthandwerkerhof in Freiberg's city centre, trainers Kathrin Häußler and Dr Christiane Biermann organise educational training sessions for nursery school teachers in the field of mathematics, information technology, natural sciences and technology (MINT). The events of the Children's University at TU Freiberg are open to all interested parties.
"The earlier girls and boys are introduced to scientific questions and scientific and technical content, the better we prepare them for the complex challenges of the future," said TU Rector Prof. Dr Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht, explaining the commitment at the celebratory event on 5 June.
Every year, the two trainers organise up to 15 further training courses, workshops and in-house training courses for educational staff from day-care centres in the district. "It is inspiring to see how much interest there is in our work. From more than 90 day-care centres, educators learn new ways to support children's curiosity and get them excited about and sensitised to scientific approaches," says coordinator/trainer Kathrin Häußler. For example, there are special experiment and research cards or other material that is already available at the day-care centres or can be purchased with little money.
Two children's universities per year in Freiberg
In two Junior Universities per year, scientific questions are dealt with in child-friendly lectures and experiment shows. "The aim here is not only to make science fun for the children, but also to offer parents suggestions on how they can accompany and encourage their children's curiosity," says trainer Christiane Biermann.
Network also contact point for MINT-ec school network in Freiberg
The two-member team also coordinates offers for students from MINT-ec schools as part of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg's membership in the Germany-wide MINT-ec Excellence School Network, which has been in place since 2016. The aim of the MINT-ec network is to support lighthouse schools in their development into MINT talent hotbeds. Kathrin Häußler and Dr Christiane Biermann support the implementation of the so-called MINT-ec camps at TU Bergakademie Freiberg as the regional office here. The university invites students to these camps three times a year.
Since 2008, the TU Bergakademie Freiberg has been a partner in the local "Junior Researchers" network - until 2021 in cooperation with the nationwide "House of Little Researchers" foundation. With its independent organisation and its own office, the university has been bundling and consolidating its offers for children and young people in the district of Central Saxony since 2021. The TU Bergakademie Freiberg and its foundation bear the costs of personnel and materials as well as the rental costs for providing the services. Cooperation with other institutions and offers for children in the region strengthen the network, such as with terra mineralia, the Silbermann Society, the World Heritage Site Montanregion Erzgebirge e.V., the Dresden Technical Collections, the Geopark Sachsens Mitte, the Chemnitz Industrial Museum or the Pohl-Ströher Depot.