When the computer museum becomes a lecture hall

Kinder Academy on Site at the ZCOM

At the end of January, the special exhibition area of the ZCOM Zuse Computer Museum was once again transformed into a lecture hall: The Kinder Academy of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz visited the computer museum in Hoyerswerda, offering children and teens the chance to experience science up close. The collaboration with the ZCOM highlights the importance of extracurricular learning venues.

For 20 years, the Kinder Academy has been an integral part of educational life in the European City of Görlitz-Zgorzelec and the university town of Zittau. Scientists present exciting research topics in an age-appropriate manner. The Kinder Academy is organized by the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz.

On January 30 at ZCOM Hoyerswerda, the theme was “Programming with Data—Learning Through Examples.” During the events, children and teenagers gained hands-on insights into programming and artificial intelligence. The event welcomed a fourth-grade class from Elster Elementary School as well as 11th-grade students from the Leon-Focault High School in Hoyerswerda.

The speaker was Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus ten Hagen from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, who spoke enthusiastically about the students. “I explained that I was going to show them how to program, and they pulled out their tablets. I hadn’t expected that. When the Wi-Fi login details were written on the board and the students asked what they were supposed to do, the accompanying teacher replied, ‘Just like in class,’ and they were online. The students opened the scratch.mit program and worked diligently on their projects. Everyone entered the programs we demonstrated on their tablets and ran them. I’m impressed!”

Text and photos: Frank Schneider