The project “Creating an innovation center in Ventspils” is successfully completed

On April 30 of this year, the project “Establishment of an Innovation Center in Ventspils” financed by the European Economic Area and the Norwegian financial instrument ended, within the framework of which modern and interactive content was created for the Ventspils science center VIZIUM.

In total, more than 80 interactive exhibits are available in the VIZIUM science center, including creative workshops and science shows, whose task is to educate children and young people about STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. With the support of the Norwegian financial instrument project, 54 interactive exhibits have been created, located in the Physics and Mathematics, World Geography, Human and Self-Knowledge, Smart Technologies, Healthy Lifestyle and Little Explorers galleries.

The exhibits use modern technology and design solutions, such as RealSense, Kinect, virtual reality, etc. The exhibits are specially designed to be integrated into the learning of both interest education and general education programs, so each exhibit is thematically related to the learning content learned at school.

The project has developed 17 curricula for learning the STEM field for preschool, primary, elementary and secondary school students, as well as 4 programs for educators, which offer innovative knowledge acquisition and new learning tools, thus improving the knowledge and competences of educators. By learning the VIZIUM curriculum, children and young people have the opportunity to expand the knowledge they have acquired at school – both by exploring the exhibits and by performing various experiments, tasks and observations, as well as by working in groups, promoting cooperation skills.

More than 710 students and 80 pedagogues have been educated with the help of the curricula developed in the project, who have appreciated the developed curricula and gained new knowledge in the field of STEM. The practical lessons not only improved the knowledge of the trainees, but also promoted creativity, critical thinking, communication and problem solving skills.

Ensuring equal access to all students and teachers of Latvian educational institutions, an opportunity was given to apply for reimbursement of transport costs to get to the science center VIZIUM for free. In total, 42 schools and 20 educators from different regions of Latvia used this opportunity.

Within the framework of the project, the Center for Young Natural Science Researchers was also established, which gives young people the opportunity to meet with STEM enthusiasts and gain new and valuable knowledge. The aim of the center is to encourage and convince children and young people that science is far from complicated and can be interesting and understandable.

A great added value to a visit to the science center’s exhibition hall is the wide range of educational activities on offer. Everyone has the opportunity to participate in technical creative workshops, amazing science shows, various thematic events where residents are offered STEM activities, such as “Digital Holidays”, “VIZIUM Winter Wonders”, “Colorful Easter”, etc. The Science Center regularly renews its offer so that every during the visit, I would surprise the guests with something I had never experienced before.

Ventspils science center VIZIUM was opened on June 18, 2022, and since then has welcomed almost 270,000 curious visitors from Latvia and other countries of the world. The mission of the Science Center is to invite and motivate everyone to be interested, research and acquire knowledge in the STEM field, supplementing formal education with an exciting and interactive experience of learning about the world.

More information about the services offered by the science center is available on the website www.vizium.lv.

Financed by the EEA financial instrument and the Norwegian financial instrument 2014 – 2021 period program “Research and education” activity “Innovation centers” project “Creating an innovation center in Ventspils”.

More information about EEA and Norwegian financial instruments is available on the websites: www.norwaygrants.lv and www.eeagrants.lv.