education
Zutphen – Science is interesting, science is exciting and fun, science is important… they say. Science means acquiring knowledge and knowledge is power. They say. Science means that you can research topics that you find fascinating, that you can discover and invent things, and science means that you can improve the world and perhaps save it. They say. Science is… yes, they can say a lot. But of course you'd rather find out for yourself. Especially if you are between six and twelve years old. This is also the only real basic scientific position: you should never let yourself chew anything. Want to investigate!
Written by Sander Grootendorst
Well, it's possible. Anyway, every day, for example in the backyard: What are those beetles in the rose bush? Or along the Issel River: Why does the water flow so quickly? Good question! Please keep asking them questions, good questions!
And: Participate in Expedition NEXT on May 1. This is the National Science Festival, which pitches its tents in a different city each year for an entire day exposing six to twelve-year-olds to every nook and cranny of science. Which means that at the end of that day you'll really realize how great everything was. So that you can benefit from it for the rest of your life. And yes, it is 100% true what they “say” about science.
Watch and share first, then believe
Well, watch first, share first, then believe. Take a look at the website Expeditionnext.nl and book your ticket right away. I will always do that. Then, with no other choice, you have to make some choices. Since the program is so broad, it is not possible to participate in everything. What do you think is the most interesting, exciting, fun, etc.? Maybe you can ask others for good advice. Or simply: surprised. This is often best. But keep asking those questions “Eh!” How about that, why is that? Otherwise, he would be of no use to the next Professor Nova. She and her friends have come all the way from the future to Zutphen today in the hope that participants will help fill De Wetenschat with knowledge. Don't disappoint him!
I was asked to write a newspaper article about the festival, and then I also had to choose. Experts from all over the country come to Zutphen, but I thought I would ask what the museum in this city had planned for that day. And (they are in the same building) the Antiquities Department.
Archaeologists study how people lived long ago. It is often based on fossils: ancient ruins, ancient tools and bones. City archaeologist Michel Grothede actually found archeology as interesting, exciting, fun, etc. when he was young as Expedition NEXT participants do now. Go and conclude. He talks with lecturer Rinski den Boer about the archaeological plans for the Science Festival.
Cold case of 882
The focus is on what you might call a “cold case”: a crime that was never solved, one that happened so long ago that the police stopped investigating it. “Cold state” means “cold state”. Well, this Zutphen case is pretty cold. “There was a robbery in Zutphen in 882,” Michel says. Wow, that's 1,142 years ago! But science does not stop at anything. “In the last century, archaeologists have found the remains of murdered people, burned homes, and smashed objects. Young participants in Expedition NEXT are tasked with tracking down the culprit(s). At the museum, the finds are displayed as if they were crime scenes as found by archaeologists. With a magnifying glass on hand Hand, you can answer questions based on the different items in the museum, such as the sword and 3D prints of bones. Step by step you can decipher what happened.
The “Museum in Zutphen” is actually two museums: the Henriette Pollack Museum of Modern Art and the Stedelijk Museum about the history of Zutphen. The remains of a murdered resident of Zutphen are usually displayed in a display case in the basement. “This forms the basis for this condition,” Grothede says. “You're really drawn to the ideas of the archaeologist acting as a detective: and then of course you have to ask intelligent questions as well.”
'You get real
included in it
Ideas of
The archaeologist who as a
Detective work:
And then you should too
Ask smart questions
It's not until May 1st, but I'm already realizing not only what a fascinating subject archeology is, but also: the sheer diversity of the sciences. You have the humanities, sciences and gamma sciences, explains Rinski den Boer. Maths, physics, biology, astronomy, psychology, language…it almost makes your head spin. Expedition NEXT will do your best to give you an impression – and more – of what you can do, and what career you might want to choose next. But you will see it again. First, let's spend a few years researching and experimenting.
Cruise from Zutphen to Danzig
All of these specializations have something in common, which becomes even more evident in Expeditie NEXT. In some subjects it is obvious, such as archeology and history. Rensky talks about the Great Hanseatic Topography game that is also in the program. “You are asked to transport as much cargo as possible from Zutphen to Danzig in one sea voyage. This is no easy feat: along the way you encounter pirates, you have to deal with calm or severe storms, products are confiscated by enemy soldiers or you have to You have to deliver the goods as payment. Find the correct route to the final destination and you will be rewarded with a certificate. “Certificate, just like the real thing! Just as in the Middle Ages, when Zutphen was an important European trading city.
The game was developed and implemented by Tijdlab and Studio Biesterveld on behalf of the Zutphen Heritage Centre. I'll mention these three here, but they represent the many creators and developers who make Expedition NEXT possible and provide children from Zutphen and the surrounding area with an educational – perhaps – unforgettable – day out.
What else to mention: The projects you can participate in often remain available after May 1st. Anyway, you can play the topography game in Borgentoren when this building officially becomes an information center on the history of Zutphen. For all ages. And that cold case from the 9th century? This will be a package that schools can start working with once the smoke from Expedition NEXT has long cleared. But – to remain in archaeological terms – the next expedition would leave indelible marks in Zutphen!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Zutphen's Archeo portable hotspot. “do you know?” Rensky asks. “It is the first of its kind in the whole Netherlands. A kind of food trailer that we can use for excavations and all kinds of activities. For example, visitors can learn about animal bone materials and make archaeological finds.
It was coming… With almost no space left in the paper, there was a lot to be said about Flag Day. Fortunately, we have the Internet (which couldn't have been developed without mathematics), so be sure to check out the site!
“Art is about looking carefully.”
“Expedition NEXT is a very fun event,” say Francine Ounk and Lisanne van Ewijk of Musea Zutphen. “Science, art, culture. Everything comes together at the festival. And we immediately thought: we have to respond to that.” Even if they say it themselves: “We have come up with a very wonderful program.”
Lisanne: “Art is always about looking carefully. An agreement with science. This is reflected in our programmes. To indicate that these connections exist, we asked a theater group to do a tour, a quick tour, where they pretend to be scientists. Very funny, but what they say is all true.”
Art and science are also about naming: what do you hear, what do you see, what do you think? “How do you feel” can also play a role. And: “What are you smelling?” So: “We always have one participant describe a work of art that others don't see. Then they have to sign it. And then they can discuss the results. And how much do they resemble the intended artworks? At Expeditie NEXT, you will not only learn how to draw, but you will also learn how to explain things Obviously: not all words have the same meaning for everyone.” And there's another connection to science, because you're also talking about color theory. What exactly is color?” Ah, good question!
Jean Flores Martinet: A lot
Scientists in one person
Do you know who else has asked these types of questions? Jean Floris Martinet was an 18th-century historian, naturalist, educator, and theologian. So in one person there were actually several scientists at the same time. Two books he has written: A Brief Understanding of World History for Young People and A Little Catechism of Nature for Children. The Catechism is a book of questions and answers, usually about faith, but here mainly about nature. Naturally, these books contained ideas about history and nature as they thought about it at the time. “This ‘Catechism’ is also called the Natural Bible,” says Francine. “It's nice to do something about that at Expediti NEXT. There will be a mock catechism, which you can use to make your personal nature Bible. You can take it out into nature. Or your own backyard. Ask the questions and answers yourself.” This will continue after May 1…
“There will be a mock religious education, where you can…
Personal
The nature of the Bible was
To make. you can do that
in nature. Or your own
Backyard. Ask yourself
And the answers
Innovate
Speaking of gardens: “Museums have a private courtyard,” says Lisanne. “The shapes you see are based on ice crystals drawn by Martinet. Beautiful challenge: Draw the ice crystals yourself. Francine: “And we also have a beautiful shell dome here at the entrance. You can also draw those shells. This is not possible without monitoring them closely. She can already feel the questions the young scientists are asking her: “You won't just find these shells on the beach in Holland. Where then? And how did they end up in Zutphen?”
Shell drawing is an ongoing activity on May 1, but you must register in advance for various other activities. Exactly how all this works can be found on the website. What can be said in one sentence, perhaps the most important piece of information in this whole story: participation in Expedition NEXT for children from six to twelve years old is free!
Expeditionext.nl
