Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Heureka...

Finland has a well deserved reputation for technology education. The universities produce well qualified, creative talent for the tech industries, in part I am sure this is because higher education is effectively free here.

But getting kids interested in technology subjects in the first place is a challenge facing many countries. Places like Heureka, where I had a team meeting today, must surely help spark their imagination.

Heureka is the Finnish Science Centre, clearly geared up for school and family visits. Rather than the dull exhibits I remember from the Science Museum in my childhood, (admittedly, a long time ago now), it is an exciting place, full of interactive displays and real life examples, all described in Finnish, Swedish and English. Each is designed to grab and hold the attention of all who visit.

After our meeting, we had a chance for a small competition, trying out some of the activities. I think the most fun to do as a team was a simple computer game, projected on a massive screen, where you work together to catch items dropping from the sky. I've not laughed as much at work for ages.

Heureka was much better than a hotel venue for stirring our own creative thinking. My only regret is that we should have done the competition before our planning meeting and driven our innovative thinking to new levels.

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