The official launch of DaVinci Camp, an initiative by International STEAM Research was done by Sr. Rani Jacob, the Principal of Our Lady Queen of the Missions School, Park Circus, Kolkata, on February 18, 2022. The camp was all about Experiential Learning for students through S.T.E.A.M activities as mindful Problem Solvers and understanding the possibilities of contributing towards the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.
This camp was an innovative way of welcoming our students back to school after a long gap of 2 years. At this camp, the students of Our Lady Queen of the Missions School, Park Circus, engaged in activities that made them apply the 4Cs of the 21st Century, viz. Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking and Creativity.The activities integrated the application of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) through a mode of self-determined learning or Heutagogy. Besides, they intuitively accommodated the virtues of inclusive learning, developing cultural empathy and compassion, in the process of developing as future-ready and curious life-long learners.
Students reveled in hands-on-learning as they built various structures through the Design Thinking process and even learnt applied coding. They used the ISR Mechatronickit, for building the structures, where they could indulge in handling tools and equipment without the fear of failure.
“There is a paradigm shift happening in the educational system and is evolving faster than ever before. Change is inevitable and for sure it will be exponential and we have to prepare our children adequately as ‘Future-Ready’ law abiding, productive citizens of the world”, said Sr. Rani Jacob.
Participants were taken by surprise at the end of the camp as integration of all their creation resulted in a cityscape which they could showcase to their parents and teachers. The creations were of real-life connect using futuristic technologies such as AI, AR, IOT, Coding, Robots, Drones etc making learning fun and engaging. The grand finale of the camp was choreographed by a Humanoid.
“Our school turned 75 and has continuously evolved with the changing times for the benefit of our student”, added Sr. Rani.