Gateway’s STEAM tour boosts student expectations and achievement
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The popularity of STEM and Robotics has increased year on year at Gateway, since they were first introduced to students two years ago. In support of the enthusiasm with which students completed tasks and achieved new skills, the school set up Innovation Laboratories which are fully equipped to prepare students for the technology-driven world they will step into. Simultaneously, with the emphasis on arts, the school has moved towards a STEAM approach where students explore the same concepts of inquiry and problem-based learning, but through a more creative process. It is in this backdrop that a tour was organized to Bangalore where they were able to conceptualize the end result of what they do in school, boosting their expectations and achievement.
The STEAM educational tour to Bangalore India, gave the young students of Gateway Colleges a memorable and practical exposure to explore and observe how basic concepts of science open up ambition to research and development of products in the industrial and domestic lives of people. With the participation of 44 students from Gateway Colleges Colombo, Negombo, Kandy and Dehiwala, accompanied by 5 teachers; the tour spanned from 6th April 2019 to 13th April 2019.
During the stay, students were given the opportunity to visit various places which lifted up their learning curves by getting them involved to operate on working models which displayed the concepts of science. It was exciting to see how this sparked interest among the young boys and girls. The places visited were Vishweshwarya Technological museum, Science park Bangalore, HAL aerospace museum and Mahindra manufacturing plant. In order to cover the arts aspect, they also visited places such as the Mysore Palace. The Snow city in Bangalore and Wanderla Amusement park were a few places where they found ample time to enjoy on explore scenery, and take part in fun rides and games. Additionally, the tour comprised a camping activity that included trekking, rock climbing, zip line and kayaking in Ramnagar which gave the students the opportunity to improve their confidence and skills with thrill and excitement.
The tour was organized for students of Years 7, 8 and 9, in order to foster thinking and dreaming ‘big’ from a very young age. Arrangements are being made to organize a tour to Singapore for older students studying in Years 10 and 11 with the support of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.