The Delta Project
What is the Delta project?
The Delta project is a human spaceflight project for primary schools. The aim of the project is to encourage schools to integrate science and technology into their curriculum, using human spaceflight as a theme. This project brings the world of human spaceflight closer to teachers and students.
Opportunities for the schools
Teachers and students participating in the project are offered unique opportunities, such as radio contact with astronauts on the International Space Station, access to exclusive ESA and NASA material and workshops in the NASA centres. There are also several workshops a year in the Netherlands for the teachers. The purpose of these workshops is to inspire the teachers, to offer them concrete examples of activities for the classroom and to give the various schools the opportunity to get to know each other. Participating schools are also given financial support (a maximum of 5000 euros a year for 3 years).
Activities at school
Next to using educational material provided by ESA and NASA, the schools participating in the Delta project also develop their own lessons, experiments and activities. These can vary from lessons about the solar system, to experiments with light or gravity, building a model of the International Space Station or writing a song about astronauts. Schools share the lessons they develop with other Delta Schools. In the long run, all the materials developed will be made available to all the primary schools in the Netherlands.
Why human spaceflight?
Space is exciting. New planets, stars and other phenomena are discovered regularly. Satellites watching the earth and the sky take beautiful photos. Astronauts on the International Space Station perform important experiments, suspended in mid-air. The outcome of these experiments can affect our daily lives: they lead to knowledge of the human body and the development of new materials. New missions are launched regularly to discover more about the celestial bodies around the earth. Students, their parents and their teachers find space fascinating.
Facts and figures
The project started in 2005 and will run until 2010. In total, 45 primary schools in the Netherlands will participate in the project. In June 2005, the first seven Delta Schools were selected. In June 2006, a further 19 schools were selected. In June 2007, the final 19 Delta Schools will join the project. Schools participate for 3 years. The aim is, however, for the school to continue teaching science and technology after the project has ended. The project is aimed primarily at children between the ages of 9 and 12, but all age groups in primary school are encouraged to participate.
Who are the organisers?
Inspired by the success of the educational activities around the spaceflight of Dutch astronaut André Kuipers, the Dutch ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States of America (NASA) set up the Delta project. The ministry of Education, Culture and Science has delegated the daily coordination and organisation of the project to the National Center for Science and Technology Foundation (NCWT).
More information
If you have any questions about the Delta project, please contact Marieke Hohnen.
Delta
P.O. box 421
1000 AK Amsterdam
+31 (0)20 - 531 32 33
Download this article:
The Delta Project
[PDF
]
Read more about the Delta project:
NASA Explorer School Concept Goes International
Launch of major space education projects in the Netherlands
Campaign to find Delta schools
|
|
