New Delta schools start voyage of discovery
What do smoke detectors, new medicines and the weather forecast have to do with spaceflight? Recently a third generation of Delta primary schools started on their own voyage of discovery into the fascinating world of spaceflight, inspiring their pupils to take an interest in science and technology.
Teachers from twenty Dutch primary schools visited ESA's research and technology centre, ESTEC, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, earlier this month to officially kick-off the latest round of the Delta project and to receive their Delta certificate.
Selected on the basis of their plans, all the schools will use spaceflight in their own way. Not as a topic on its own, but as a theme in geography, mathematics, history and other school subjects. Just as the previous twenty-six Delta schools who went before them, the nineteen 'new recruits' will have three years to implement their ideas, and to give spaceflight a place within their existing lesson plan.
Talking to astronauts
ESA and NASA provide the schools with access to their existing lesson materials. Teachers from the participating schools can also take part in Delta schools workshops in the United States, whilst pupils can join in with experiments in space. There is a chance, for example, to talk to an astronaut on board the International Space Station during a live radio contact.
The Delta project is a joint initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, ESA and NASA. The project is managed by the National Centre for Science and Technology in the Netherlands.
Read more about the Delta project on www.deltaopschool.nl (in Dutch).
