Education Ghana Project #30835

Support science clubs for 600 girls in Ghana

by The Exploratory

Project Report | Jan 17, 2019
Thanks to you we reached our 2018 goal! #STEM + Love = A better world!

By Connie Chow | Founder and Director

Exploratory club examines plants

Dear friend of The Exploratory!

Happy new year! Afe hyia pa! We at The Exploratory want to thank you from the bottom of our heart, and celebrate the conclusion of the 2018 campaign with you! Your donation contributed to a total of $7677 (above the $7500 extended goal)! Most importantly, because of your generosity, 612 girls (and 118 boys) participated in 29 weekly STEM clubs, to learn science through touch and feel, an experience they would otherwise not have.

“At first I saw science to be a difficult subject but now I love it”. - Kaziah

This past year Explorers in our clubs planted and observed the growth of vegetables in pots or gardens they created, performed experiments and built models to investigate the human body and its functions, and asked questions and measured the physical properties of solids and liquids. As you recall, they also participated in a design challenge, community service project, engaged with role models, and some were involved in coding clubs. Our campaign in the 1st quarter of 2019 is to expand our coding clubs. You can continue to support our organization by contributing to this new campaign. Thanks in advance!

STEM + LOVE = A better world.

Esther, who wanted to be an accountant before she joined the club, now wants to "be an IT specialist to make science education easier by creating educational software for kids". Her peer, Chantelle said, "The Exploratory has given me the zeal to help people".

STEM Clubs - a place to explore the world around them and expand their sense of self

Through this campaign you supported, our Explorers learned a lot by doing hands-on, practical science. Importantly, they changed their minds about who they were as learners and how they can use what they have learned in STEM to help others.

Kaziah, Esther and Chantelle and other students would lke to thank you and share in their own words 5 ways your donation has made a difference:

1. Built tolerance for uncertainty and persistence through safe and challenging learning environments in STEM.

I couldn’t do it the first time. At the end we got the light to turn on.
Before, when we are about to do [an] experiment, [I was] confused with the instructions, [and used to think,] “In the end it will get spoiled, so why should we do it?” After joining the club I now like being exposed to new experiments.

2. Enabled experiences that increase student knowledge and understanding in science, their participation in the classroom, and their interest in sharing that knowledge in school and beyond.

First I thought [practicals would] waste time, now…when I remember the practical I can put words together and write an answer.
I now [help] juniors and peers academically in science, maths and other topics
When I am [at the house], I call my friends, and teach them a class

3. Bolstered confidence, especially in girls, who are more willing to use their voice

At first when they ask me science questions, even if it was the correct answer I felt like it was wrong. Now I just say the answer.
[Before] when I was going to answer a science question I was shivering, I even feel like crying, and sometimes I answered them. After [joining The Exploratory] I can answer questions.

4. Nurtured curiosity and resourcefulness (in particular in using a wireless server filled with educational content)

I didn’t know what potassium permanganate was, so I looked it up and wrote more notes on it
[I use] educational software like the Britannica to find out more experiments

5. Created problem solvers who wants to improve others’ lives

We must find things that we need or don’t need in our community and find solutions
We should explore our environment, see problems and solutions around us
I thought that ...they would take away my knowledge so I wouldn’t teach anyone, but now I teach others

Thank you! We hope the new year will bring your wonder and joy!

Yours in science,

Connie

P.S. We hope to raise $2500 by March to provide additional training to expand our coding clubs. Please consider supporting this new project! (We will deactivate this project by end of January). Thanks.

Coding club - 2018

Winning Design Challenge team attend NSBE 2018

Balloon rocket!

Links:

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Sep 25, 2018
Meeting the world (including German Chancellor Angela Merkel!!)

By Connie Chow | Founder and Director

Princess, with Angela Merkel & Charles Ofori

Dear friends,

I hope this update finds you well. Thanks to your generosity, we have had a wonderful end to the school year. In particular, I want to share 2 stories and some stats in this email that is cause for celebration, and illustrates how our programs shifts students' thinking about themselves and their role in it - and allows them to act on those ideas.

1. Inventors squared.

The first photo was taken during the German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Ghana as part of her west African tour at the end of August. At ImpactHub Accra, she met entrepreneurs and innovators across Ghana, including our own inventor, Princess.

Princess and her team won The Exploratory's #SolveforGhana design challenge last year, and she has since improved upon the design, which she uses with her neighbors, in her unfinished house, as seen in the photo behind them. Don't you love seeing the satisfaction and confidence exuding from this young girl, as the world's most prominent world leader, who is also a PhD scientist, exhibited genuine interest in the lightbox? Sends shivers down my spine. Read more here.

We are proud of our partner Charles Ofori and thrilled to have been an early adopter of the science setand. His feature in the BBC, including a description of Princess' design, is fabulous. You can also see the video here, showing our kids and teacher from Berekuso.

2. Giving back by design. Bringing it all together.

The second photo was taken in July, at the Tieku School in Nsawam. The students proudly presented three benches that they designed and built for the shop owners, seated, who run the canteen at the school.

For their final term, Explorers were asked to come up with a project to benefit their community. The students at this school used design thinking skills to identify their own problem - there is no seating when students purchase snacks during recess.

As they brainstormed, some remembered the Accra: Waste Art exhibit at the Museum of Science Technology where this year's design challenge final was held back in April. The exhibit included wall hangings, furniture, clothing, bags etc that were made from discarded bottles, water satchet bags, barrels etc.

As a low-cost solution, the students took discarded gerry cans (yellow) and collected money to purchase wood and bolts. They designed, measured, built and rebuilt three benches to give to their community.

I was surprised and inspired that they have absorbed what they could from their environment - the museum exhibit in this case, which they voluntarily visited while waiting for their bus - and combined it with the skills they have learned. This is what happens when we expose children to new places and ideas. We will be amazed at what can happen. Now everyone benefits.

3. Graduation time!

Our Explorers in the final year of Junior High School leave school in mid-June after they have taken their final exams. We invited them back for a brief graduation ceremony and present them with certificates of participation and to wish them a fruitful journey forward - and to come back and visit.

The wonderful news is that again, over 60% of The Exploratory's participants have chosen science as their area of study in senior high school, with some schools approaching 80%. In fact, one teacher told us that some of his students, when given the chance to resubmit their priorities, selected science as their first choice - after the positive experience from the design challenge. We are getting information about their final acceptance and decisions and will keep you posted.

Thanks to you for making all this possible.

Sincerely,

Connie

P.S. GlobalGiving will match your first donation as a NEW recurring donor. So, if you're not one already, please consider switching your project support to a recurring donation on this or an upcoming project of ours. Stay tuned! Thank you!

Presentation to canteen owners

Graduation from Junior High and from Exploratory!

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Jun 25, 2018
Real-life science: role models + design challenge

By Connie Chow | Director and Founder

Ideas from the preliminary Design Challenge

Dear friend,

You may remember that this past term, our Explorers were studying the human body. (If not, do check out the last report linked below). They've looked for their pulses, listened to their hearts beat; measured their height, lung capacity, and heart rate before and after exercise; studied how pressure and muscles help their hearts, lungs and guts work. Our Explorers have loved it.

How can we make learning about the human anatomy and physiology even more relevant? We brought in role models and challenged our Explorers to design physical models to put it all together, of course!

Visit from health professionals

Thanks to your support, a total of 18 professionals in health care and health sciences visited our clubs during March. They included 8 medical doctors whose are experts in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and ear, nose and throat; 6 nurses whose specialties range from community health to psychiatry to midwifery; a physiotherapist and a prosthetist and orthotist; 1 lab technician focusing on biochemistry and microbiology; a psychologist and IT consultant; and a lecturer and researcher in neuroscience. They hail from large hospitals to local clinics. Students' perspectives were broadened.

Our visitors used stories, models, illustrations and slides to illustrate the functions and illnesses of the human body and mind, and how they as professionals contribute to the health of their patients. Our Explorers loved learning about the breadth of experiences, the real life applications, health tips, and the encouragement from role models to study hard and reminder that they too can use science to make their world a better place. A few of the role models enjoyed the experience so much they volunteered to come more than once!

"…once we are determined there is nothing we cannot do, we just need to identify our talent and work towards it", said one Explorer after a visit.

#DesignChallenge

As a wrap up for the term, Explorers put their knowledge to work in our 2nd design challenge during their April vacation break. On the first day, over 600 Explorers from different schools gathered in each of the 4 towns where we have clubs. They brainstormed ideas, created posters and presented those at the end of the day.

The younger group were asked to use visual and physical models to help low-literacy members of a community understand the dangers of second hand smoke. The latter were asked to create working models as teaching aids for understanding the circulatory system. See the photos for some our Explorer's ideas.

The best team from each division (primary and junior high) moved on to the final the following Friday, which was held at the Museum of Science and Technology in Accra. They had to build working models - there brought pumps, bottles, tubing, soot - and there was even a Scratch (computer) game. It was a day of excitement, concentration, elation and a bit of disappointment!

Our judge said, "“The projects were impressive and innovative, some students even exhibited knowledge beyond what I will expect them to know at their level.”

We are so grateful for your support to make these experiences possible. Please share the word about this important work. Have a wonderful summer!

Students at the Design Challenge Preliminary

Student presentations at Design Challenge Final

Role model visits from medical professionals

Model to demonstrate 2nd hand smoking

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