- Our Center, created in the 1993 has in his aim stimulation of the education in Exact Sciences and Nature Sciences on the base of new educational Paradigm: "To study as to play, to open world as researcher!". Hebrew version of the name of our Center ("Perhey Mada") include some untranslatableduality ("Blossoms of Science" and simultaneously "Cadets of Science") reflected its aims and approach. This approach is based on the natural curiosity of children as driver of their self-development from the first minutes of their life and even in adult state. This approach shift center of the weight in educational process from direct lectures, sermons, explanation from teacher to children on own attempts of children to investigate problem, what is interesting for them, by themselves (individually or in group).
Evidently, this transition of the paradigms forces us to change our educational instrument. In place of frontal teaching, when supervisor formulate problem and its solution, describe field of the knowledge in his terms and from his point of view, student obtain in his hand any instruments and receipts for finding of the same knowledge as his own discovery. Main instrument in our approach is Research Project, where pupil acts as researcher. Certainly, this Project must be prepared and formed in the form adequate to level of pupils; it must stimulate creativity of the student and help to him in his way of researcher.
As main field of our activity we choose Astronomy/Space/Environment, partly because these themeshave very strong attraction for young (and in general, for adult too). Terms "black holes", "solar storms", "hidden mass" and "dark matter" so as "ozone hole" and "global warming" immediately stimulate attention of the pupils to theme of discussion and strong desire to find understanding of the mystery phenomena or object.
Our approach includes four levels of the projects: "nano-projects" for children garden and basic school (up to 10-12 years), "micro-projects" for intermediate school (12-16 years),"mini-projects" for high school (16-18 years) , and "macro-projects" for the best graduates high schools and students of colleges (17-22 years). Evidently, these levels and projects are interconnected one with another and sometimes participants, started on the micro-projects level in intermediate school, continue their activity up to macro-projects of the graduate's diploma level. For each level we organize courses for preparation of the teachers and instructors, interested in the using of our receipts, and published books and brochures for them. The scheme of our work is shown on the next Figure 1. Detailed description of the each level we will give lower.
- The main tasks of Blossom of Science are:
- Development of new approach to educational process based on the creative pedagogy
- Development of courses for teacher focused on using of this approach in schools.
- Preparation of the wide list of educational projects for potential users from different populations of pupils with different age and level of preliminary knowledge
- Creation of the specialized Internet portal for self-education and development of tools for users – pupils, interested in Astronomy: Internet school in Astronomy, …….
- Creation of the new generation of teachers and instructors, with experience of creative pedagogic method for realization of our program in the next generations.
- The content of our activity for different levels:
א.Level of kinder gardens-basic schools – special software with interactive movie -game"Touch the Sky", formulated questions of children to surrounded world; special books–bookletswith list of prepared activities (games, hand made experiments for correspondent level) - nano-projects
ב.Level of intermediate school:
- "Days of Science" in tens schools of Israel on the base of our Mobile Astronomical Laboratory, included 3 telescopes (2*20 cm +1*10 cm) with solar filters, set of rockets, inflatable planetarium, presentations on high actual theme in astronomy ("Asteroid attack", "Solar flare impact",…) – first contact with astronomy for many pupils, including in Internet contact with our site and to our another programs
- Summer astronomy camps (4 – 5 week's camps on 200-300 pupils from all country) with introduce to astronomy and with preparation of mini-projects on themes, stimulated by "Astronomy Pictures of the Day" – micro-projects with first successful experience of research in real science fields (hundreds projects).
ג.ASTROTOP – one year program of preparation of short projects, with solution on the quality level of chosen astrophysical problem – mini-projects with first experience of data acquisition, collection, critical analysis and comparison with alternative explanation (many tens projects).
ד.Graduate Diploma – 1.5 year real participation of pupils (students-graduates of high school) in astrophysical projects on the base of telescopes and data-bases of national observatories and Research Centers: Wise Observatory, Israel Space Weather and Cosmic Ray Center, our Sea of Galilee Observatory with 40-cm optical telescope and 2.5-m solar radio telescope (tens projects)
All levels of activity are supported by permanent courses for teachers and instructors, who are included in our Center or are interesting to collaborate with him.
Many from the projects of our students obtained first places on the annual national contests of student' projects; 4 students with ASTROTOP projects obtained first and third places in European Sky-Watch Contest in 2005, creators ASTROTOP program Dr. David Pundak and Dr. Lev Pustil’nik obtained first places in European XPlora-SkyWatch Contest 2006 , student K-12 Ruslana Glazman obtained first place in European Sky-Watch Contest 2007
Our InternetAstronomySchool won first and honor places in 1996-2002 indifferent national and International contests of the best educational projects in Internet .
- Resources of "Blossoms of Science" : Equipment and Laboratories
Optical telescope (40 cm MEADE, 2 CCD matrix ST-6, UBVR filters)
Solar Radio telescope (2.5 meters, 10 spectral polarization channels)
Physics laboratory of the JordanValleyCollege
Ecology laboratory of the JordanValleyCollege
Website-Portal "Blossoms of Science" with access to InternetAstronomySchool, ASTROTOP, Mobile Astronomical laboratory, ……………………..
Resources of Collaborators – Participants in our Projects:
Israel Cosmic Ray and SpaceWeatherCenter (of TelAvivUniversity and Israel Space Agency) with Cosmic Ray Observatory on the Mnt. Hermon.
Wise Observatory of the TelAvivUniversity in Mizpe Ramon.
- Structure of the Blossom of Sciences
- Staff of the Center at Jordan Valley Academic College
Dr. David Pundak – Director of Development Staff
Dr. Lev Pustil’nik – Director of Sea of Galilee Observatory
Shaul Yanai (M.A.) – Director of Internet Site "Blossom of Science" (InternetAstronomySchool, Internet Tourism in the Solar System,…………………………………………..
Zahava Wagner (M.A.) – Director of Mobile Astronomy Laboratory
Svetlana Pustil’nik (M.A.) – Development of Matter for Astronomical Activities and Head Counselor at Summer Astronomical Camps.
Yiftah Sagi (M.A.) – Physical Laboratory Director
Yotam Cohen (B.A.) – Website Manager
Gavriel Shaked (B.A.) – Head Astronomy Counselor
Ilan Lulav (B.A.) – Head of Chemistry Division
Miri Or (B.A.) – Organizational Coordinator
Funded Projects:
1994 - Ministry of Science-Israel, Investigation of Flare Activity of the Astrophysical Objects; 114,000 NIS.
1994 -Ministry of Education - Israel, Development of Learning Materials in astronomy for secondary schools; 150,000 NIS.
1994 - Ministry of Industry and Trade - Israel, Development of software for science learning; 338,192 NIS
1995 - Ministry of Science - Israel, Investigation of Flare Activity of the Astrophysical Objects; 150,000 NIS. Principal investigator - Dr. David Pundak.
1995 - Ministry of Science - Israel, Radio Telescope for research of solar activities; 114,000 NIS.
1995 - Ministry of Industry and Trade - Israel, Development of software for science learning; 490,826 NIS
1995 -Ministry of Education - Israel, Development of Learning Materials in astronomy for secondary schools; 247,000 NIS.
1996 -RASHI Foundation – Israel, Science camps, development activities for future scientists; 340,000 NIS.
1998 -Ministry of Education - Israel, Development of Learning Materials in astronomy for high schools; 600,000 NIS.
1999 - Ministry of Science - Israel, CosmicRayCenter with Emilio Segre’ Observatory and WorldDataCenter for cosmic rays; 2,800,000NIS.
2000 - Council of High Education – Israel. Development of Internet Technology in Academic Education I; 2.500,000 NIS.
2002 -Ministry of Education – Israel, PortableAstronomical Laboratory;- 1,500,000NIS
2005 - Council of High Education – Israel, Development of Internet Technology in Academic Education – II; 650,000 NIS.