Kids research edutainment program kicks off at the City Center

As part of the ongoing “Ever Wondered” research campaign spearheaded by the Supreme Education Council, an edutainment program designed for independent school children aged between 8 – 12 years old commenced at the City Center’s second floor, yesterday, April 20, 2008 and will continue until April 29, 2008. The program is aimed at raising awareness and interest in research in Qatar, and is open for the public in the evenings of the weekends of April 24, 25 and 26, 2008. .
Visit the research website

The program combines fun ways of learning science for kids by simplifying the essential science basics - Physics, Chemistry, and Biology – in a non-traditional classroom setup, and transforming complicated theories to amusing games. The SEC’s Office of Communications invited independent schools - primary stage - to participate in the beneficial program comprising an eclectic mix of education with entertainment aimed at promoting cooperation and team spirit among students. The set up consists of a mini scientific laboratory, which enables the students to carry out the following experiments and research applications:

• Connect an electrical circuit
• Discover chemical reactions
• Understanding the laws and phenomena of nature
• Get to know how the human body functions
• First Aid Session
• Young mad scientists play
• Fun Scientific workshops
• Do it yourself (DIY) Scientific experiments
• Young researchers press conference

In the same context, the Office of Communication in collaboration with the Research Skills Development Unit at the Education Institute developed and designed CDs for children containing interesting and educating websites to promote research, investigation and exploration. Some websites included are:

• Websites for Children’s Museums around the world
• Websites containing science activities they can do at home
• Websites for competitions that they can participate in
• Websites for children to learn Science and Math in an educational and interesting way

The Office of Communications at Supreme Education Council launched the campaign in February 2008 to disseminate the culture of research in Qatar’s society. The question mark (?) was approved as the logo for the media campaign to trigger students curiosity, stimulate their sense of investigation, and encourage them to ask questions and look for answers through research and exploration. The campaign aims to create awareness among Qatari society on the importance of research in our day-to-day life and to apply the concepts of research inside and outside school. (?) signs have been put up in main assembling points in Qatar. The campaign consists of advertisements in the daily newspapers, magazines, school buses, as well as the Supreme Education Council website for greater outreach, to ensure every individual in the community participates and benefits from this important campaign.