From the Earth to the Moon. Planning a trip to Space

The aim of this activity was to introduce students to scientific thinking, concepts of physics and computer programming through fun STEM activities on the topic of ''a trip to Space''. The activity comprised 5 stages, including the creation of a film on the evolution of the Universe as well as the construction of a mockup and a simulation of the Big Bang using the Arduino microcontroller. In the next stage of the activity, students learned about space missions to the Moon, built robotic arms and space devices with simple materials, and designed and built rockets with 3D design software and a 3D printer.

The students presented their digital projects at the 8th Digital Creation Festival. A special event was also organised at their school premises where they were able to present all their projects to other students, teachers and parents. The teamwork and inquiry-based teaching methods were applied to implement this action. The GoLab online platform for inquiry-based learning was used for the first time to support teaching activities. Appropriate e-learning spaces were created by the teachers, following – for each activity – the stages of inquiry-based learning, namely Orientation, Conceptualisation, Investigation, Conclusion, Discussion.   

The project activities and implementation course are available on the school website (in Greek).

• 48 students from the 6th grade of primary school participated in this activity.