The Young Explorer Club (Klub Młodego Odkrywcy) program is an educational, extra-curricular activity for children and teenagers that consists of exploring the world of science through experiences. Participants experiment under the supervision of their tutors, using a scientific method that develops many competencies. It allows one to cross the usual school boundaries between subjects and shows that making mistakes can be valuable because it teaches how to solve the encountered problems.
The creator of YEC is a teacher, Janusz Laska. Currently, the program is coordinated by the Copernicus Science Centre, which enables large-scale activities. Hundreds of clubs have been established in Poland and abroad. Every year, the YEC Forum is organized, and attended by supervisors to exchange their experiences.
More information about the YEC program on the website: www.kmo.org.pl/pl/co-to-jest-kmo
Łódzki Uniwersytet Dziecięcy Politechniki Łódzkiej has been cooperating with Copernicus Science Centre for many years. In 2018, ŁUD became a regional partner of the YEC program.
As part of the cooperation with Copernicus Science Centre:
• training sessions were held at Politechnika Łódzka: "How to run YEC?"
• and in 2019, a two-day meeting of regional partners from across Poland
Currently, ŁUD has become one of the laureates of the competition „Regiony KMO. Opiekunowie i kluby w społecznościach lokalnych” (Regions YEC. Supervisors and clubs in local communities), which aims to promote the activities of YEC in the regions. As part of the competition, we are starting cooperation with Niepubliczne Przedszkole Politechniki Łódzkiej (NPPŁ) (Non-Public Nursery School of the Lodz University of Technology), and we plan to support preschool teachers and teachers from I-III grades who want to set up Young Explorer Clubs.
ŁUD was also one of the laureates of the „Together for a better future” competition organized by the Copernicus Science Centre, the Deloitte Foundation and the School with Class Foundation. As part of the competition, ŁUD will cooperate with four schools in Łódź: SP 41, SP 174, SP 199, and SP 206. Selected teachers from these schools will participate in workshops organized by the School with Class Foundation, which aim to support the integration of Ukrainian and Polish children. From March to May, teachers will conduct joint integration and cultural workshops for groups of children from Poland and Ukraine in their schools to help children get to know and understand each other.