Carla Geveke from the Netherlands introduced ten teenage girls to astronomy in the Santa Maria de la esperanza orphanage in Olón, Ecuador, using the UNAWE Earth Ball.
Geveke, who is an education scientist, is writing a thesis about the development of scientific talent in educational activities outside the classroom.
In July this year, she went to the orphanage in Ecuador, together with her friend Erwin Musper, who is living in Ecuador and has set up a foundation for this orphanage.
Geveke used the Earth Ball to teach the girls about the rotation of the Earth and day and night. Together with the English teacher, she taught them words like North Pole, sea, land and city.
Geveke got in contact with UNAWE due to her education research. “It is so important to induce curiosity among children about the world. The activities we did in the orphanage were perfect for this goal. I am promoting the stimulation of talents among students and it is fantastic that I could bring this approach to Ecuador. The girls wanted to know so many things, like what is the name of different countries and what happens when it becomes dark at night. One girl even went inside to look for an atlas. She wanted to know even more and look it up herself!”
The teenage girls, aged 10-16, will now teach the younger children in the orphanage about what they have learnt. And with his foundation, Erwin Musper made sure that from now on, the girls in the orphanage will get an English and a music lesson once a week.
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