The ‘STEM IN SCHOOLS’ project was presented on November 10th at the Taguspark campus of the Instituto Superior Técnico, to teachers and coordinators of the primary education network in Oeiras.

Over the next few months, the school community in the Oeiras Municipality will attempt to find answers to engineering problems and challenges by hosting researchers from Instituto Superior Técnico in their schools or visiting the Taguspark campus of Técnico. The ‘STEM IN SCHOOLS’ project, developed in partnership with the Oeiras Municipal Council, aims to promote scientific literacy through creativity and teamwork, offering hands-on activities. Técnico provides visits to the Taguspark campus, workshops, and thematic lectures. The activities can take place at Técnico’s facilities on the Taguspark campus or in schools, always with the goal of bringing the Oeiras community closer to the university.

The presentation session of ‘STEM IN SCHOOLS’ took place on November 10th at the Taguspark campus and featured the presentation of activities that Técnico promotes for schools as part of the ‘Oeiras Educa’ project. It also included the presentation of the prototype of the ‘Bag of STEM’ project – an educational kit of scientific experiments with low-cost, appealing materials integrated into the teaching curriculum – and a brief visit to the art and science installation of the ‘World Pendulum Alliance’ project.

Oeiras Educa

The Oeiras Educa Program aims to connect formal education with the existing non-formal educational offerings in the municipality of Oeiras, creating facilitating mechanisms for this purpose. In this context, Técnico promotes various activities, such as Paper Circuit, Welding, Augmented Reality, Cryptography, Coin Ship, Video Games, and Robotics. It also offers the opportunity for conversations with scientists on various topics such as ‘The World of 0s and 1s’ and ‘The Internet of Things.’

‘Bag of STEM’ Prototype

This is an experimental teaching project, in partnership with the Oeiras Municipal Council, designed to be applied in elementary school classrooms. It was created by Técnico’s faculty and researchers with the aim of preparing primary school teachers for the implementation of proposed activities. All activities are designed to be carried out in one or two 60-minute classes, addressing topics integrated into the curriculum and distributed throughout the school year. After creating the kit, the next step is to develop a teacher training strategy for its use and implementation in the classroom.

“World Pendulum Alliance”

The World Pendulum Alliance (WP@ELAB) project is a three-year initiative approved for funding under the Erasmus+ – KA2 Cooperation for Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices – Capacity Building in the Field of Higher Education of the European Commission. The project, coordinated by Horácio Fernandes, a professor at Instituto Superior Técnico, is located on the Taguspark campus and integrates artistic expression into the pendulum. The art, ‘the graphic expression of time,’ was developed by Fernanda Victorello, an artist and designer, and is displayed near the interior garden, next to the library, providing not only knowledge but also a synergy between art and science.

Photo Gallery.