Together with its partners, the Museum of Technology has created the HOW environment for 7th and 8th grade students, with 10 different workstations and workshops covering natural sciences, mathematics and technology. The stations include electricity and energy, water, plastic, climate, industrial engineering, artificial intelligence, signals, robotics, packaging and wood.
The Wood station was produced by the Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association together with the New Wood project.
“The content of the Wood station is based on the introductory theme of ForestBioFacts, which helps students gain an understanding of the forest-based bioindustry,” says Vera Hallikainen, Development Manager at the Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association.
“Before the museum visit, the students will be sent a few articles from the introduction section of ForestBioFacts as background material. At the Wood station, students can learn about the journey of wood from the forest to processing to industries that use wood and products made from wood.”
The introduction to the forest-based bioindustry is followed by a workshop that has inspired the students. In the workshop, students can plan and develop anything that can be done with wood and wood-based materials. The ideas are implemented by shaping them from the Woodcast material.
“Among other things, a wood-based formula car has been created in the workshop, and one group was thinking about making a football from Woodcast. The time allotted for the workshop is about half an hour, but some students have been so enthusiastic that they have come back later to continue designing.”
The Finnish Forest Product Engineers’ Association inspires young people to join the industry
“One of our focal points is to inspire and encourage young people to enter the industry through doing and experimenting. We cooperate a lot with university students, but also with lower and upper secondary school students,” says Hallikainen.
The Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association is participating in, among others, the Forest of Opportunities campaign aimed at lower and upper secondary school students, where expert ambassadors visit schools to talk about the forest industry, wood-based products and the work and study opportunities in the industry. The campaign is aimed at 8th grade and upper secondary school students.
Through the Subjectaid service, the Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association also distributes Puunvuoro magazines and information about study opportunities in the field to hundreds of Finnish schools each year.
On 6 March, Science Centre Heureka will host the Day and Night of Chemistry event, which is intended for all Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association members, their families and students from primary school to upper secondary school. The idea of the event is to spark interest in chemistry and studying it. The Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association is the event’s main partner, together with the Finnish Chemical Society.
