In Wrocław, PPG Deco Poland with their Technical Academy and Omniveda Foundation came together to run some incredible and educational city-based summer camps for around 300 children under project "Summer of Science" or "Lato wiedzy" in Polish.
The Omniveda Foundation, a charity whose aim is to get students engaging with STEM education, runs events and experience days for children.
The Foundation partnered up with PPG to bring STEM oriented summer camps to 10 different schools, each lasting one week.
The summer camps focused on key STEM subjects using the evolution of humans on Earth as its running theme. The week was arranged chronologically, with activities and subjects running parallel to the evolution of man; starting the week learning about life on Earth before humans and ending it with discussions on the future of mankind.
Throughout the week the children conducted multiple experiments, took part in practical activities and made day trips to various scientific places of interest such as the Humanitarium and the Ethnographic museum.
Learning about PPG Paints
Scientific activities included exciting and technical challenges, one of the most popular being a rocket experiment where students built, painted and launched their own rocket. Accompanied by PPG staff and lecturers the children had to focus on the paint element of the experiment, discussing how paint can dissipate heat. At the end of the experiment the students were given samples of PPG paints to take home as a souvenir.
Other experiments focused on geology, biology and physics where the children tested corrosive solutions on old coins to restore them back to their original shine and creating plaster copies of prehistoric fossils.
PPG supported the project by providing PPG Paint experts and staff as well as partly subsidising for lower income families to widen the impact and outreach of the Omniveda Foundation.