AstroSTEAM Aspects of Turkish Mobility Within the Erasmus Project "Time for Coding-It's All Around US" /29.05-02.06.2023/

AstroSTEAM Aspects of Turkish Mobility
1. The first day of our Turkish mobility turned into a captivating session of natural science education beyond the traditional classroom. During our Karacabey surroundings trip, we not only explored various historical and geographical landmarks but also visited the local bird museum. There, we were introduced to the names and features of indigenous bird species, such as the "lelek." Subsequently, we witnessed these birds in flight, confirming the theoretical knowledge gained earlier, observing them through binoculars from a specially constructed tower. Later, during a boat trip on a lake, we identified some of these species' nesting among water plants.

In the afternoon, as we strolled through the Longoz forest, we encountered a dung beetle rolling a dung ball significantly larger than itself. Our Turkish biology teacher shared insights about dung beetles:

• They play a crucial role in ecosystems by helping decompose and recycle organic matter.
• Their primary source of nutrition is dung, and they assist in breaking it down and incorporating it into the soil, enhancing fertility for agricultural development.
• The female lays her eggs in the dung ball, and the larvae develop within the ball, feeding on the dung.

This experience proved to be both educational and amusing, as each lesson should be. Despite challenges, such as the unexpected closure of the school due to Turkish presidential elections coinciding with our first day visit, the Turkish team, fueled by creativity, ingeniously demonstrated how to apply a STEAM approach in practical, non-classroom settings. They seamlessly integrated diverse teaching disciplines with real, visual, and practical applications from the world outside the classroom.

2. In Bursa, our AstroSTEAM journey reached its culmination. The most impressive and memorable experience for us, aligning perfectly with the project's goals, was the visit to the space and science education center "Gokmen Aerospace and Aviation Center" in Bursa. There, we traced the history of aircraft construction, explored the cockpit of a real plane, and attempted to control a model aircraft.

In the "Explore the Cosmos" section, we managed to observe images from space and planets, understand how the cosmos functions, familiarize ourselves with the latest space technologies, study the possibilities of life on other planets, walk on the moon, visit space laboratories, assemble a Mars rover, follow the lives of astronauts on the International Space Station and the challenges they face, try on a spacesuit, and much more.

However, the most challenging experience we went through was spatial disorientation simulator /centrifuge/- it is a device used to replicate the effects of spatial disorientation, simulating the experience of various forces and motions that individuals might encounter in aviation or space travel.

It was an exceptionally thrilling experience.

3. During our visit to Ataturk Primary School in Karacabey, we engaged in discussions with teachers who were not part of the project. We talked about topics that concerned us, such as student motivation, classroom behavior management, different working techniques to attract and maintain children's attention for a longer period, and how they introduced STEAM teaching into their strictly regulated program set by the Ministry of Education.

We also had a project meeting with the partners where we discussed further project activities. We had an opportunity to present our project tasks, which we had prepared before the Turkish mobility. One of the topics was a Day in the Life of an Astronaut at the International Space Center”. Although we had prepared well before the mobility, the visit to the space center in Bursa the previous day, gave us a new perspective and a lot of new material to discuss.

We also had the chance to visit various classes across different grades and actively participated in a hands-on classroom activity. A movie about building and launching a rocket, explaining the chemical elements needed for the reaction, was shown. Later, we had the chance to launch the rocket in front of the amazed faces of children and teachers from the entire school. The experiment was a success, and the experience was emotional.