Projects

With the "AR adventure in the museum", Naturama Aargau is using the possibilities of a serious game for the museum context: it offers children and young people a contemporary way of communicating topics that tend to be perceived as "dry", such as the natural history of the canton and the creation, maintenance and use of a natural science collection such as the one maintained by Naturama Aargau. Instead of having to read information texts about the exhibited objects, the participating children use AR to embark on an exciting adventure (mission) through the museum and learn about selected real or digitized objects and exciting background information. 

 The "AR adventure" can be played by the children using a tablet or smartphone. Thanks to the use of augmented reality, it is possible to create a story with several episodes. The children will experience real objects in the museum that are "enriched" with AR. At the same time, they can also access the digitized, physically inaccessible Naturama collection "at the touch of a button". The objects are linked to scientifically and socially relevant topics such as biodiversity, climate, nature conservation and local scientific history. Through their involvement, the children enter into a relationship with the objects and learn about cultural heritage and its significance in a playful way. 

Thanks to the involvement of catta gmbh, the game is being developed using experience already gained and technical foundations from other comparable AR projects. In addition, the game is being developed iteratively with the early, comprehensive involvement of the main target group, i.e. schoolchildren aged 8 to 12. Both the selection of objects "enriched" with AR in the museum itself and the storytelling are developed in several participatory workshops together with schoolchildren. This ensures that the game content corresponds to the real interests of the target group. The result is a prototype of a "serious game" with development potential, as the application will be modifiable so that it can be used by Naturama for future projects as well as for other museums in the interests of sustainability. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

The Children's UZH aims to awaken children's interest in science and familiarize them with the university as an institution, thereby strengthening equal opportunities and access to education for all. The "Kinder-UZH on Tour" project was launched to improve equal opportunities and promote access to education for all, especially for children from non-academic families. It offers free workshops directly in schools to introduce pupils to current research topics and arouse their curiosity for science. With a wide range of over 20 topics, particularly in the STEM field, the project reaches around 1,800 children from primary 3 to 6 and of all genders every year. The program is highly appreciated by the teachers, as it actively involves the children and enriches the lessons in the long term. The project has already experienced strong demand and is now to be expanded to reach more schools and children. The cogito foundation is supporting the continuation and expansion of "Kinder-UZH on Tour" for two years. 

The education and upbringing of children and young people is always about our future. A future that is characterized by rapid technological progress, increasing global crises and great unpredictability. In addition, the innovative strength of our society depends to a large extent on the success of new and technological developments and their broad application. This requires sufficient and well-trained natural science and STEM specialists. Since 2014, teaching has been based on Curriculum21, which gives STEM more weight. However, many schools and teachers are still very challenged by this. This is precisely where mint & pepper comes in with the new "Nanomed 4 life" workshop: Through the interdisciplinary approach, young people from the age of 12 experience the relevance of scientific thinking in the successful development of new technologies and their many possible applications. Young women in particular are enthusiastic about the meaningful application of STEM topics and the contribution they can make to society with the help of, for example, basic physics or programming. Through the practical approach of developing solutions to real-life challenges, young people can discover their own skills and talents on very different levels. For these reasons, the workshop takes up a concrete problem from the clinic - the minimization of permanent damage after brain strokes. The young people work in teams to find solutions for navigating a magnetic catheter in the body. This makes it possible to dissolve blood clots in the brain. In doing so, the young people learn in a practical and creative way what a relevant contribution STEM sciences can make to overcoming today's medical challenges and saving lives. Another important aspect is the transfer from research and the associated scientific development process to a marketable product. The workshop, which is aligned with Curriculum21, will be carried out by trained students and learners as part of testing from August 2024 in schools and leisure activities. They will act as role models, providing new perspectives for young people's career and training choices. From summer 2025, the workshop will be scaled from 400 young people reached to 600. At the end of the project in 2026, the workshop will be included in mint & pepper's long-term workshop offering and the number of young people reached will continue to increase. In addition to the young people, the teachers will also benefit by receiving new impetus for teaching scientific thinking. The workshop thus acts as an innovation hub in schools and makes a lasting contribution to strengthening science and STEM teaching in schools. 

The project "Augmented reality for teaching STEM subjects using the example of the electrical circuit", funded by the cogito foundation, aims to determine the conditions for success and effects of using augmented reality (AR) to promote model thinking and conceptual understanding of the electrical circuit at primary school level. These findings are to be used for the (further) development of AR apps and associated learning materials. Of the three sub-studies of the planned development research, support has already been approved for the first sub-study (questionnaire study) and the pilot study of the second sub-study (video study). On the basis of the extraordinarily successful first project phase, a continuation of the project is now being funded. The aim is to carry out a detailed evaluation of the videos created for sub-study 2 and to implement, test and research a longer teaching unit in regular school lessons (sub-study 3). This should enable a more in-depth answer to the research questions, implementation in teacher training and the evidence-based further development of digital learning resources in order to promote scientific thinking among young people.

Phänomena is an immersive educational experience with national appeal that will take place in Dietikon ZH from March to October 2026. It aims to engage and educate visitors of all ages through a low-threshold, interactive exhibition format on the topics of people, nature and science. Phänomena promotes awareness of social problems, arouses curiosity and understanding for the natural sciences and inspires active participation in shaping the future. Focusing on seven main themes, including climate, energy and biodiversity, Phänomena aims to welcome up to 1 million visitors, especially children, young people and school classes. The cogito foundation supports the Phänomena by funding two small learning experiences.

The MINT-Mobil by Startbahn 29 brings MINT to open children and youth work (OKJA). In the spirit of an "enabling culture", the aim is to create a mobile, low-threshold offer that provides young people with STEM tools developed in-house. This creates contact areas with STEM topics that enable young people, regardless of their social background, to gain motivating experiences and a sense of achievement with STEM topics in the final phase of career choice. A core element here is the participation of both youth workers and the young people themselves in all phases of project development.

Pint of Science is a science festival organised by scientists, science communicators and science enthusiasts across the world. It aims to communicate contemporary scientific developments to the public in an untraditional, engaging and approachable manner by inviting researchers to the pubs. The festival provides a relaxed environment which allows the local community to discuss research with people who carry it out, with no prior knowledge of the subject required. This helps push the scientific boundaries beyond the research community, promoting interaction among scientists and society, while the public develops an increased understanding of what it is like to be involved in scientific discoveries. This kind of interaction addresses the challenge of conveying the meaning of research efforts to the public. Talks are combined with recreational activities infused by the element of surprise and excitement that help create an entertaining atmosphere allowing a sense of connection and engagement to be established with the public, easing the communication of science.