This and other questions were explored by around forty 4th graders during their visit to the Children's University on September 5^th, 2023, the kick-off event for the Nawi program. It took place at GISW - for the 19th time and introduced future researchers to the natural sciences.

Mrs. Bankert explained biology with the participation of Georgie, our school gecko, who has been with us almost from the beginning of the Nawi program and is now a remarkable 14 years old. Mr. Haider clarified the important “Head of School” question of whether our Head of School can conduct electricity, and we learned that sticking together plays an important role here. In addition, two fourth graders launched a very cool hot air balloon. At the end, Mr. Fingerle, our chemist, worked magic with different metals and made “toothpaste for elephants”.

Following this introduction students were eager to do their own experiments. Safety goggles and lab coats were obligatory and also look very cool. We all agreed: "This makes learning fun!"

Here are some of the voices of our young scientists:

Tessa G.:

"I liked biology because you can learn something about people and the body. Also, the gecko "Georgie" was well behaved this time and we could look at her eggs.

 

Fred J.:

"There is fire in Nawi, it's really cool!"

 

Elena A.:

" The human electricity chain with music was great! And Mr. Apsel as a guinea pig was really brave!"

 

Theo J..

"Burning steel wool and 'making' gold was great".

 

Jana S.:

" The most exciting thing was the elephant toothpaste from Professor Fingerle."

 

Alwin H.:

"Doing your own experiment was great fun. I am already looking forward to the next lesson."

 

Steffi Colopy

Head of the Natural Sciences Department