Our new lab05 has officially opened doors for children between the ages of 1 to 5 years old.
by Carme Escorcia, head of Communication
It was Tuesday morning. You could feel the excitement by looking at the faces of our children: we were officially opening the doors of our LAB05, a laboratory for small children from 1 to 5 years old. The objective is to spark a love for science and encourage a spirit of research from early ages.
All children are born scientists, filled with curiosity and ready to question everything. But now, with 13 spaces and all the necessary equipment for scientific research, they have a tiny paradise for science. The project was supported by the University of Manresa, who have trained our teachers and inspired our school in the process of designing the lab.
The inauguration was covered by some external media such as El Punt Avui, Regió 7 and the University of Manresa.
A real laboratory
The Lab05 is equipped with all the scientific equipment ready for children to explore and practice science. In total, there are 13 spaces with all the necessary equipment: a table with lights, a magnet board, a space to explore movement, levers with different axles, sand pit with the sea ecosystem, a table for minerals classification, microscopes and lenses and materials for scientific experiments. All these spaces have been designed by Toni Mayor, a specialised carpenter, who has cohesively taken into account both the pedagogical needs of the students and the school’s space.
“When we visit schools and we ask for science spaces, we are normally guided to the secondary labs. In Preschool, though, schools are not normally equipped with spaces for science investigation. It is outside the school that we found some science spaces designed for the little ones. We discovered, among these spaces, the Museum of Science in Terrassa; El niu de Ciència in Cosmocaixa, or later, the Lab 0-6 at University of Manresa. We were clear, we wanted a space in which our youngest children had the opportunity, at the school, to explore and play with science. This is why we contacted the University of Manresa”, explains Lourdes Barceló, head of education at St. Peter’s School.
Before launching this new Lab05, the Foundation Stage teachers at St. Peter’s were trained by Montserrat Pedreira, doctor in Education, creator and director of the Lab 0-6 at University of Manresa. From her initial training and proposals, the teachers have planned and completed the science curriculum in Foundation Years.
