From the Outer Space to the Inner Self
Although some old science textbooks seem sometimes to keep it secret, there is always some sort of connection between a scientific subfield and another. This is a lesson Tom Tits Experiment, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, tries to convey to future scientists through its interactive exhibition.
How can we not forget everything we learn as soon as the bell ringing announces school is over? Three grade 4–6 classes from Nyckel School, Södertälje, may have found a solution…
The autumn term was about to end, and so the unit on space. Thus, the trip to Tom Tits Experiment offered the students a productive opportunity to revise the former unit’s contents and smoothly transition to a new one. A visitor’s experience at Tom Tits is not only fulfilled by visual means: rather, all senses are involved in a global immersion into the laws of the universe, and the ‘train like an astronaut’ activity perfectly combined astronomy with anatomy.
The interactions with a diverse teaching body and external expertise were particularly fruitful for a comprehensive understanding of the new subject. At the physical education class, exercise became the starting point to develop greater awareness of our bodies’ responses to movement, effort, and stimulation. The Swedish class explored the dialogues between literature and the body, with particular dedication to the domain of psychiatry. An optician, through the use of practical exercises, initiated the students to the principles of optics — developing the conceptual means to create themselves new exercises for the eyes.
Such an interdisciplinary approach translated into an improved confidence in dealing with the functioning of the human body. Especially, since both the physical and mental dimensions were involved and their inextricable connections studied, it became clearer how our wellbeing may benefit from our understanding of science.