Lower secondary school
For more than 15 years fosforo: has been bringing STEM skills into schools through informal learning activities, and we are already working with several schools on PNRR pathways.
We are on MePA – acquistinretepa.it, the Italian public administration’s procurement portal.
Get in touch and we’ll find the best solution to develop STEM skills in your school or to create training courses, with a project tailored to your pupils and your needs!
The activities
The workshops in the pathways can be chosen from those on our website, in the “WHAT WE DO – SCHOOLS” section, with the timing and number of repetitions we agree on together to make the most of the time available. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, call us!
The experts
The pathways will include various activities run by the science communicators of fosforo: the science festival, which has been bringing hands-on workshops into schools for more than 14 years. In addition to the external expert, we can provide a second staff member to act as tutor.
The trainers
Together we can design training pathways for teachers on innovative teaching methods, the educational and technical management of digital tools, training and professional development in digital skills and much more, according to the needs of each school.
Day activities
A session held in the classroom, in the morning or afternoon, to explore a specific topic through scientific demonstrations, experiments and hands-on activities. An opportunity to spark children’s curiosity about science.
The session lasts 90 minutes and is for a maximum of 30 students.
Contact us!Nature and the human body
Climate change
A journey from Antarctica to the Equator to better understand climate change on our planet. Together we’ll investigate the causes and effects of global warming just as scientists do: with experiments!
Let’s infect the human body
Is it really that easy for a bacterium to infect our body? Let’s find out by becoming infectious agents ourselves, trying to reach our host’s internal organs while getting past all the immune defences!
The secret communication of the woods
In the woods every plant, every animal and even every mushroom has something to say. But how do they talk to each other? By day and by night, right before our eyes, a silent conversation goes on that keeps the whole ecosystem alive. Let’s discover the mysterious languages of nature together and learn to listen to what the woods have to tell us.
Micromonsters or microorganisms?
Starting from a drop of water taken from a plant saucer or from moss, we’ll take a close look at the spectacular microorganisms around us that populate the Earth. We’ll understand how life thrives under certain conditions of temperature, oxygen and nutrients, and how it struggles in others. The activity uses special microscopes.
Thunder, lightning and thunderbolts
Step inside a cloud to discover its secrets? Nothing could be easier! A journey full of experiments to recreate the most spectacular phenomena that happen in the sky: snow, rain, tornadoes, lightning and the northern lights.
Genius seeds
Seeds and their amazing strategies for getting around without wings or legs. Discovering the life, the journeys and the genius choices made by plants all over the world.
DNA supermarket
Discover what makes us unique! In this workshop we explore genotype and phenotype, from blue eyes to unruly curls and inherited traits. And to finish, an experiment for real scientists: we extract DNA from fruit with our own hands. Genetics has never been so much fun!
Survivor game
Are you ready to survive extreme situations? Find out with a quiz-adventure full of challenges and plot twists! With racing heartbeats, split-second decisions and curiosities about the heart and blood vessels, we’ll learn how our internal engine works. Adrenaline and science at your fingertips!
Human body
What’s the difference between an organ and a body system? Between a cell and a tissue? Let’s find out on a journey inside the human body, learning to put all the parts in the right place and to take care of our health!
Nutrition
Eating well is an adventure! In this workshop we play with the colours of food, discover where what we eat comes from and create our own balanced menu. Through questions, stories and creative activities, we learn that eating with gusto is also a smart choice!
Sight, touch and brain
Not everything we see or touch is as it seems. Sometimes it’s the brain itself that alters the sensations in our head. But why? And where is the line between reality and illusion? Let’s dive into the world of perception to uncover the tricks played by our own mind.
Tinkering and engineering
Flight tinkering
What shape does an object need to fly? How heavy should it be? How should the weight be distributed? With this tinkering activity we’ll answer all these questions by experimenting with our own hands, building, adapting and shaping our flying objects, and then watching them fly in the wind tunnel!
Tinkering: scribble machine
A motor, two batteries, a few felt-tip pens: that’s all you need for a scribble machine, the rest is in our heads! A chance to compare ideas, reflect, invent and share projects with the person next to you, with a single goal: to scribble all over our sheet of paper!
Tinkering: soft circuits
Discovering electric circuits through creativity and the tactile pleasure of modelling dough, in a blend of art, science and technology.
Crazy wheels
Wheels, cogs and imagination. An exciting challenge to design, build and test the most efficient contraptions to roll down a ramp. A workshop where “wrong” doesn’t mean incorrect but “attempt”.
Bridges and structures
There are many techniques for building a bridge, but all bridges follow precise physical laws so they don’t collapse. Let’s try building a bridge and testing how much weight it can hold: the results might really surprise us!
Sink the boat
How do boats float even though they’re made of iron? What’s the difference between a yacht and a raft made of poles and ropes? Let’s find out together by building our own boat, floating it in the tank and loading it with weights to see how much it can hold!
Art and perception
A QUEStion of perspective
Art and mathematics meet through perspective. A fascinating cross-curricular pathway that will lead the pupils to build a real miniature Ames room. Thanks to the distorted room, they will be able to experience the complex and fascinating world of perspective.
Illusions and perception
Let’s discover how our control centre works and how it reacts to sensory hallucinations! We’ll build a brain-shaped hat to identify the areas that light up when we draw, when we talk or when we’re having fun!
Stop motion
Ready to direct a short film? Using various kinds of materials, children will be able to show a scientific fact in just a few seconds of stop-motion animation. Lights, camera, action!
Physics, chemistry and astronomy
Aerodynamics
Discover how humans learned to make their creations fly by studying the nature of birds and air currents, until they managed to travel around the world on two wings, or more!
The genius of Galileo
A scientific journey through the discoveries of one of the greatest scientists in history: Galileo Galilei. Storytelling and live experiments will guide us on this journey through fluid dynamics, inertia, gravity and much more.
Chemistry of the elements
Started in 1869 when Mendeleev produced the first version, the periodic table brings together all the known chemical elements. Through the science communicator’s examples and scientific applications, participants will delve into the world of chemistry and rebuild a table of the elements to take home and continue exploring.
Chemistry of metals
Discover the shiny side of chemistry! In this workshop we explore the world of metals: from their surprising properties to their presence in everyday life. Through experiments, games and curiosities, we learn how to recognise them, use them and… make them react! This workshop requires a fume hood
Balance and centre of gravity
Starting from the basics of physics, with balance and centre of gravity, together we’ll discover where Italy’s centre of gravity is! We’ll find out how to locate the centre of gravity of an irregular shape, and how to build an object that can balance perfectly on the tip of a finger!
CONSTELLATIONS in 3D
Take the starry night home with you. Let’s explore the main constellations in our sky and discover the fascinating myths behind them. Together we’ll build a small lantern in which some of the constellations of our hemisphere will shine.
The solar system
How much do we know about the other planets in the universe? Does it really rain diamonds on some of them? Let’s leave our atmosphere to discover the wonders of the solar system and create our own customised alien, trying to help it survive in space. A journey through science and imagination for young star explorers!
Sun, Earth, Moon
We start with a globe and a light bulb to try to understand how our planet moves. With seasons, equinoxes, eclipses and motions, we’ll try to understand how we can be sure that the Earth is round and that it orbits the Sun, and not the other way round! Clouds permitting, we’ll also have the chance to observe the Sun with a solar telescope!
Light
The white light that reaches our planet from the Sun is made up of many colours combined: build a spectroscope and you’ll be able to see them all. A workshop to discover light and its fascinating variations.
Earthquakes and structures
Motion, waves and earthquakes! From geography to physics, in a workshop focused entirely on the movements of the Earth’s crust and their effects.
Hollywood science
Cinema and science: a different way to talk about physics, with experiments and quotes from the biggest action films Hollywood has produced over the last 20 years.
Maths and coding
Economics
Money and banknotes, but also trade, bartering and strategy: this is the world of economics. Let’s step into it with this activity, which will get us thinking about how to make strategic choices for our own business.
Break the bank
Winning or losing is the age-old dilemma: we are driven to hope beyond all reasonable doubt, searching for a lucky outcome that mathematics itself tells us is practically out of reach. Let’s shine the harsh, relentless light of mathematics on some of the main games of chance.
Robot arena
An area full of robots created to promote the development of computational thinking and coding. To encourage young people to become creators of technology and not just passive users. It can be played in the MOON version or the MARS version
Top secret
The content of this workshop is top secret. Only experts in mathematics and cryptography can access it and decipher all the necessary information. If you’re interested, book it!
Create your own video game
Tired of the same old video games? Let’s learn to program one of our very own! With the help of some software and a few instructions, we’ll lay the foundations for a brand-new, fully customised video game that you can play at home with friends, and at school with your classmates too! Ready? Let’s code!
Friendly maths
To make friends with the purest of the hard sciences, all we need is to present it through gripping puzzles and fun logic games that will show us how topology, logic and reasoning are absolutely within our reach.