Museum education
EduVentures offers a unique experience for study and discovery. Learning opportunities that include emotional, aesthetic and interactive experiences have replaced ‘teaching’. Bring your class to the Museum engaging youth in, and actively participate in, collecting data of real scientific value through gaining hands-on learning activities deepening the collective understanding of its natural and cultural heritage. EduVentures is dedicated to developing and strengthening the education role of non-formal education and providing tools and resources by and for school children, students & teachers. Please take a closer look at our projects:
Expeditions
EduVentures provides environmental education and hands-on activities to Namibian schools. Under the slogan “Children working for heritage” EduVentures expeditions consists of collecting and hiking in remote areas of Namibia for 10-12 days. Learners are taught different collecting methods and actively participate in collecting organisms and artifacts for Namibias various natural and cultural history collections. But apart from this participants learn about the value of, the threats to and the distribution of biodiversity. They learn to appreciate big and small things and handle creatures with respect and not fear. Major events and published and internet education resources linked to the expeditions raise public value of ecosystems and biodiversity for human well-being.
EduScience
In 2006, EduVentures launched the EduScience opportunity to do a science project under the guidance of Namibian scientists and students from tertiary institutions as assistant mentors. Workshops introduce the students to the “scientific method”, “ethics in science”, “presentation of results”, etc. This is followed by a research camp during which the students gather data on their respective research topics. Projects are entered into the National and International Science Fair competitions.
Results are presented at public talks and written up in an accessible format (e.g., booklets or newspaper series of articles). The EduVentures documentary “From the Classrom in the Kalahari” deals with the 2nd EduVentures Research Camp held at Nyae-Nyae Conservancy in 2008. It was broadcast on ARTE Germany and France as the GEO reportage.
The concept of EduScience were taken up by Gobabeb Research and Training Centre and is nowadays successfully implemented under the Youth Environmental Summit (YES) as an annual event.
Scientific Services
Acquiring a wide variety of skills is part and parcel of the EduVentures program to apply and master in a given work situation. EduVentures support and organize field research, collecting expeditions and professional excursions, such as Otjikoto Gold Mine Survey EIA (2008), SNAP biodiversity base line data collection of the Tsau-ǁKhaeb NP (2008-2011), excursions during the SSD at Tsiseb Conservancy (2011) and SNRD (2012), logistic support of the TiC project “The Homecoming” (2015). EduVentures provides expertise in the field of graphic design, GIS/cartography and development of exhibitions. The aim of the current social-ecological research project called “NamTip” is to gain a better understanding of desertification tipping points in dryland systems.
