SPIN has always been committed to developing specific educational projects. Among these, the PCTO ("Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e l’Orientamento" meaning Paths for Transversal Skills and Orientation) dedicated to high school students and other educational activities for primary school students are particularly noteworthy.
Paths for Transversal Skills and Orientation (PCTO) are training initiatives aimed at guiding high school students (final 3-year period) toward the world of work and/or the university studies, supporting them in the development of transversal skills. In this context, the CNR has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Education to promote collaboration and dialogue between the education and training system and the world of work.
Since 2018, SPIN, with the Units of Naples and Genoa, has been engaged in developing PCTO paths also in collaboration with other institutes and research organizations active in the same territories. In these PCTO initiatives, students have the opportunity to engage with the main processes involved in scientific research, gaining firsthand experience of the various phases that make up the researcher's profession, from project ideation and management to the use of experimental techniques or data processing methodologies, up to the crucial phase of communicating results. Starting from 2023, SPIN's PCTO paths are part of the CNR MISSIONE FISICA initiative developed in collaboration with the INO and ISASI Institutes.
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GEO FOR KIDS - SPIN for primary schools
In recent years, SPIN has significantly strengthened its scientific outreach activities aimed at primary school students. Particularly, at the Unit of L’Aquila, several outreach events dedicated to geometry have been developed in collaboration with the Department of Human Sciences at the University of L'Aquila. Using play and fun, the main goal of these initiatives is to introduce the youngest students to the world of mathematics and science in general, starting with geometry, which is strictly related to the awareness children start gaining about the surrounding world and the concepts of space and time. This approach provides young learners with a unique and engaging perspective on geometry, physics, and chemistry, in a strongly interdisciplinary framework that involves interactive activities and utilizes augmented reality experiences too. Proposed themes include symmetries, mathematical infinity, geometry in chemistry, "colored" arithmetic, optical illusions, non-Euclidean geometries, and more.
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Other Projects and Initiatives
SPIN participated in the "Art & Science across Italy" project rganized by the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and CERN in Geneva. The project, active in 11 Italian cities, including Genoa and Naples, aimed to promote scientific culture among high school students and concluded in April 2020 with an exhibition of works at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. SPIN has long collaborated on and organized outreach initiatives for students coming from primary and secondary schools, but also for a broader audience, within the framework of the Genoa Science Festival.
