Projects

The aim of the project is to teach children (8 to 12 years old) the process of the scientific method and provide them with knowledge to trigger their interest in scientific research, using lively methods such as comic books and playful activities. Interactions between researchers and pupils are encouraged with different options proposed to the teachers. 

Swiss media and entertainment have embraced the rising popularity of content centered around the humble home kitchen, from cooking shows to food blogs and food festivals. Yet, the fascinating science that lies behind every-day cooking – from the chemical and physical transformations during cooking to the biological roles of yeast and microorganisms – are often overlooked. This is a missed opportunity to deepen public understanding of the scientific process. "Cook the Science" aims to bridge this gap by leveraging public enthusiasm for home cooking through a unique lecture series that brings together renowned chefs and leading scientists from ETH Zurich. By focusing not just on culinary results but on the science behind everyday kitchen activities, the series aims to promote a better understanding of how scientific knowledge is acquired and applied. The goal is to make science both enjoyable and accessible, using cooking as a familiar, relatable entry point to engage a broad audience. The events will feature a blend of scientific insights and live cooking demonstrations. 

The low-threshold exchange between science, the arts and the public is central to Erzählwelt Wissenschaft. In the concrete implementation, attention is paid to the reduction of CO₂ emissions, among other things by avoiding air travel, whereby experts are involved via remote connection if they cannot be on site. The program promotes cultural and scientific knowledge transfer through immersive, interactive formats that actively involve the audience and develop new forms of green storytelling. The program combines art and science at eye level in order to make ecological and social sustainability tangible in a cultural context - and invites the public to engage in a low-threshold exchange. 

The world is undergoing a major transformation. Children and young people from all walks of life should be encouraged in the core and interdisciplinary skills they need for the upcoming social development. The “Fabrica Filasez” is a new type of public facility in Winterthur Hegi, where girls and boys aged 9 to 19 can pursue and realize their own ideas and projects in the fields of art, crafts, technology, science and design. The program was opened in September 2023 and was attended by 405 children and young people in the first 45 afternoons. With its clear focus on free, individual, project-oriented, interdisciplinary and creative work, the Fabrica is a model for the school workshops of the future. The promotion of inventiveness, technical and creative understanding, independent development of problem-solving strategies, leaving the beaten track and exploring new paths are important core skills for a self-determined life. Children from different population groups learn how to interact with each other in a space characterized by respect and recognition. The cogito foundation supports the STEM based aspects of the development of the program.

The “Skills Kiosk” is a leisure program run by the Science et Cité Foundation that helps children and young people to develop important skills for the future through pop-up science and tinkering activities. The focus is on STEM topics in particular. The aim of the project is to spark an interest in research, science and engineering while promoting skills such as creative thinking, problem solving and collaboration. The Skills Kiosk takes place during free time, for example at meeting points for open child and youth work, in school playgrounds or at extracurricular activities. Participation is voluntary, and the children decide for themselves which activities they take part in and for how long. The Skills Kiosk takes place in various regions of Switzerland, with Science et Cité working with local partner organizations to reach children, young people and their families. A central aspect of the Skills Kiosk is the focus on children and young people who normally have little access to such extracurricular activities. Parents are also involved in the program, as the offer is local and free of charge and gives them suggestions on how they can further encourage their children's interest at home. Another key aspect of the project is to encourage day schools and youth work organizations to incorporate such offers into their leisure programs on a long-term basis. The supervising professionals are supported with workshops and coaching sessions to enable them to continue the activities independently. This enables a sustainable transfer of knowledge that gives children access to STEM-related activities even after the Skills Kiosk.

Middle and high school classes conduct research on the farm! Pupils explore the importance of agriculture based on the topics of climate change and biodiversity. In inquiry-based learning, they ask questions, formulate hypotheses, experiment with scientific methods and analyze results. During the working day on the farm, the school classes are accompanied, guided and introduced to the world of research by young researchers from ETH Zurich and the universities of Zurich, Basel and Bern in the spirit of science outreach. The pupils discuss the research results with the experts and farmers and reflect on their everyday behavior. In this way, they experience the topics of climate change and biodiversity at first hand from the perspective of experts and agriculture and are sensitized to crucial questions about the future of our planet and the sustainable use of resources.

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.