Bremerhaven

For 22 schoolchildren in the north German seaside town of Bremerhaven, the new school year has begun in unusual fashion. Every Tuesday and Thursday, they swap their classrooms for lecture theatres and labs at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) on the coast of the Wadden Sea.

There they are taught biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and English. The lessons bear little resemblance to the way that German 16–18-year-olds are usually taught science. No school bells interrupt the day-long projects; theoretical classes and practical sessions are closely intertwined; and there are no fixed timetables. Guided by science teachers and AWI researchers, the pupils will, over the next three years, learn the principles of scientific experimentation and how to use research equipment by carrying out field research and lab work on their own.

The scheme is the most ambitious of a recent series of attempts to stem the decline in the number of students choosing science at school and university. Some German universities and research institutes are already offering taster courses and internships for schoolchildren, but the AWI's attempt to integrate science education into the day-to-day work of a research institute is the first of its kind in the country.

The students will learn basic techniques in Earth sciences, such as how to test for the presence of various substances in water samples. They will then apply these to their first project — a study of the Wadden Sea ecosystem. The area is Europe's largest coastal wetland, flooded at high tide and dry at low tide.

AWI researchers have promised to do their best to support the scheme. “Once the students master the basic mathematical and scientific tools of the trade, there are many ways to let them participate in research work,” says AWI oceanographer Ulrich Bathmann. Bathmann has compiled a list of possible teaching topics, including carbon cycles, species diversity in phytoplankton and atmospheric processes.

Science education experts are enthusiastic about the idea of bringing schools and research centres closer together. “This is an exciting new approach,” says Dagmar Schipanski, science minister of Thuringia and president of the German conference of education ministers. “Since reunification, I have observed the decline of young people's interest in science with great concern.”

A few similar schemes have been run in Denmark and the United States. And Walter Kröll, president of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres, to which the AWI belongs, plans to extend the project. “Teaching laboratories similar to the AWI's will be created at all Helmholtz centres,” he says.

→ http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/index-e.html