On Friday, April 23, 2024, from 09:30 to 13:00, the ArchaeoSciences Platform and the GEODAR team from the Research Institute of the University of Bucharest (ICUB) organized the event “Green Week: From Little Discoverers to Great Researchers” / “Săptămâna Verde: de la mici descoperitori la mari cercetători” at the “Dimitrie Brândză” Botanical Garden in Bucharest, in collaboration with its staff.
During Green Week, the event aimed to familiarize children from Bucharest schools with exploring the past and the connections between humans and nature. The event was attended by over 40 students, parents, and teachers (School 97). The activities were divided into two distinct sections:
10:15 – 11:15: Journey into the world of ancient plants – a session to familiarize with the plant world – pollen, charcoal, and seeds – alongside Catalin Lazar, Mihaela Dobre, Mihaela Iacob, and Sebastian Dumitrescu. The young participants had the opportunity to attend a presentation and a practical workshop dedicated to archaeobotanical microscopic analyses (carpology, palynology, anthracology), familiarizing the young ones with the secrets of the investigations of the past vegetation.
11:30 – 12:30: Demonstrative session with research equipment (drone, total station, magnetometer) for collecting plant geospatial data, supported by Cristina Covătaru, Cristian Roth, and Daniel Stoicescu. The field research equipment included the total station, magnetometer, and drones, whose use was explained and demonstrated by the lecturers above.
Through such actions, the ICUB research teams aim to be more involved in raising awareness among the younger generations about the importance of research in stabilizing the drastic climatic processes that threaten our nature and planet in the current days. At the same time, the action aimed to spark the interest of schoolchildren in the beautiful world of sciences and the opportunities it opens up for the curious and those who want to provide solutions in the future.
The event “Green Week: From Little Discoverers to Great Researchers” occurred within activity A3.6. Developing programs for young people in schools and high schools, focused on involving them in scientific experiments within the project “Regional Center for Career Guidance and Counseling in Research – Bucharest-Ilfov – from pre-university education to advanced research” (SciResCareer), contract 760032/23.05.2023, funded under PNRR/C9/ Investment “i10 – Establishment and financial support of a national network of eight regional career guidance centres as part of the ERA TALENT PLATFORM”.
