facts about NordBio

Biophilia Creativity as an educational and scientific tool

Nordic Council of Ministers

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Biophilia is from the ancient Greek and means love of life or a passion for all things living. Such love harks back to a time when the Natural Sciences dealt with life in its myriad of forms and variations, the ever changing relationships between humans and nature. Sometimes those relationships are technical, at other times more spiritual. Sometimes we interpret them as music, sometimes as scientific facts. And some are astute enough to hear the turning of the planets and the grass growing.

Goals of the Biophilia projectThe aim of the Biophilia project is to motivate entrepreneurs and encourage the interest of children and youth in science and innovation. The main idea is to integrate education, culture and science and turn traditional teaching methods on their head. Participants are thus encouraged to engage their creativity as an educational and scientific tool, across all ages, subjects and specialisms.

The Biophilia education project is wide-ranging and creative, involving the participation of school children, teachers, scholars, scientists and others; a collaboration of science, arts and creativity. It emphasises hands-on experiences of the wonders of science and music with fun experiments, short informative comments and live demonstrations. There is a great emphasis on the power of touch in accessing the subject matter. The Biophilia education project format is conceived as a collection of ignitors that spark interest and invoke a basic knowledge that can easily be expanded. Pupils not only get introduced to the world

of musical theory, but through it they explore the wonders of black holes, crystals, moons, lightening, continental drift, gravity, viruses, axial tilt and DNA.

This method invites powerful developmental work and establishes a joint forum for collaboration, consultation and debate.

Nordic collaborationBiophilia – regional collaborationsEach participating country choses a region to take part in the Biophilia project. Each region will have a steering committee which is responsible for implementing and shaping the project in collaboration with local interested parties. The steering committees then form a Nordic collaborative framework around the Biophilia education project.

Photo: Curver

Addresses & Information

Nordic Council of MinistersVed Stranden 18DK-1061 Copenhagen KTlf +45 3396 0200

www.norden.org

Contact informationArnfríður Sólrún Valdimarsdóttir Adviser Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. Tel: +354 545 9500 Mobile: + 354 695 5169

e-mail: arnfridur.valdimarsdottir@mrn.is

NordBio

Each participating country receives its own Biophilia teaching chest, packed with physics, biology, music and multimedia, which it sends out to regional schools. The chest is designed to break up traditional teaching methods and also contains teaching ideas formulated by a group of Nordic specialists.

The teaching ideas can change and adapt to local conditions, to new experiences, knowledge etc. There is an emphasis on individual contributions from all participants, so that the Biophilia teaching project is ever evolving in an interactive fashion, with a Nordic emphasis.

Biophilia – The Knowledge TrainThe purpose of the Knowledge Train is to travel around, loaded with science and fun, which are used to ignite the interest of young people in science, higher education, and universities.

The aim is for the Knowledge Train to “travel” through selected regions of the Nordic countries, with knowledge and scientific workshops on board. As it travels, it stops in nursery schools, primary schools and secondary schools where the pupils

will be offered scientific workshops and lectures. The train also brings a research and science programme for families, which introduces experiments and interactive tools from nearby knowledge centres, technical museums, innovation companies and entrepreneurs. Thus it promotes communication, and builds collaborative fora and networks within each region.

The expected outcomes are to:

• promote innovation in schools through the development of teaching methods that bring together knowledge, creativity and technology, and can be adapted to all school levels, institutions and businesses.

• wedge traditional teaching practices through a cross-disciplinary approach, across all ages, subjects and disciplines.

• develop local collaborative networks in the participating countries, which form a joint Nordic collaborative forum that strengthens Nordic utility

• encourage young people’s interest in Natural Sciences and technology, and thus progressively increase the competitiveness of the Nordic Countries.

• Develop a web-based forum, without borders, for Nordic collaboration between different specialist groups that will continue to exist after the project ends.

We are on the brink of a revolution that will reunite humans with nature though new technological innovation. Until we get there, prepare and explore Biophilia…..

Read more at www.norden.org/bioeconomy

What is NordBio?The Nordic bioeconomy initiative, NordBio, is a project initiated as part of the Icelandic chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2014. The aim is to promote a more sustainable utilization of natural resources and encourage less waste of resources.

The initial run of the program and all associated projects is three years and it involves a broad range of sectors. Implementation of the program will thus require close multidisciplinary collaboration.

The focus will be on projects that add economic, environmental and educational value. The Nordic countries have good prerequisites for clearing the path for a more biobased economy and also have a very holistic approach to societal change. Hence they are well placed to lead the way in this field.