Stars and STEM Stories
10th Czech GLOBE Games in Sluknov, Czech Republic
The TEREZA Association and the Secondary Forestry School of Sluknov organized the 10th Czech GLOBE Games, in Sluknov, in May 2007. The games were held under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment, County Council of the town Usti nad Labem and the City Council of Sluknov. Members of the Czech GLOBE Alumni Association cooperated and provided valuable assistance in preparation and organization of the Games.
This four-day event, called the "GLOBE Games Czech Open," was attended by more than 300 students and teachers from 41 schools from the Czech Republic and approximately 40 students and teachers from Hungary, Finland, Poland, Spain and Slovak Republic. Also in attendance were special guests Miroslav Novak from the Ministry of Environment, representatives of the Usti Region and the Mayor of Sluknov. Organizers, visitors and special guests brought the participant total to nearly 400.
For the Games, students were organized into teams that combined international students with selected Czech students. Because of a predominance of Czech students, there were also some Czech teams grouped by schools. The competition took place at ten different sites, and was focused on testing new to understand the practical use of the GLOBE protocols and to practice teamwork, which ultimately benefits students in the classroom.
While the students competed, teachers had the opportunity to participate in several workshops. One of the workshops for teachers was focused on the protocols of one of the new GLOBE Earth System Science Projects (ESSPs), "Carbon Cycle." Jana Albrechtova, an active member of the Czech GLOBE Scientific Board, prepared the workshop along with her colleague Zuzana Lhotakova from the Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague. Another workshop concerning the life of trees was prepared by experts from the Forestry School. The teachers were also welcome to go and examine all the prepared sites and to see their students fulfilling the tasks.
For two days, participants took part in a "field conference." Many organizations, schools and volunteers assisted during these days and a wonderful sense of cooperation developed, as a result. There were also many accompanying programs available to participants, thanks to the volunteers. A special group of student journalists interviewed participants and teachers, wrote reports from the field and completed the Newsletter onsite. The Newsletter was distributed on the last day, during the closing ceremony.
A great deal of positive feedback from participants delighted the organizers from the TEREZA Association and the Secondary Forestry School Sluknov. Francisca Gil López (Paki), IES La Dehesilla of Cercedilla-Madrid, Spain, wrote,
"It might be interesting for you to know that our students, who were in Sluknov in May, organized a similar GLOBE Games back at school on the last day of their school year when we do special activities about our projects. They liked their participation in the GLOBE Games very much, and they explained it to the other students. I think it is a good indication that they learned a lot and they really enjoyed the GLOBE Games."
To read more about the Czech GLOBE Games, in Czech, visit the GLOBE Games Czech web site. To see more photos from the event, visit GALERIE.
26 October 2007