Natural Sciences Club
In the Natural Sciences Club, we integrate physics, chemistry, mathematics, and Estonian, English, and Russian languages to explore our world through holistic concepts. The time allocated to regular study sessions is often too limited for conducting thorough and calm experiments. In the club, we have sufficient time, and the approach to topics is more flexible. Most experiments are conducted using readily available materials so that they can also be repeated at home. The club's activities support the understanding of themes addressed during regular study sessions.
We calculate the volume of a plastic cup, observe the melting of snow and the evaporation of water, build mirror mazes, calculate the focal length and power of lenses, study the propagation of light in an optical fiber, test a pinhole camera, construct a color filter device, three electroscopes, and a coin battery. These experiments can be repeated and expanded upon, depending on participants' interests. Each club session lasts 1.5 hours, and every student is expected to participate in at least one session per week.
A key component of the club’s work is developing the following competencies in students: independent problem-solving, tackling creative tasks, and being able to argue and defend their viewpoints on specific issues. Teaching in the third stage of schooling builds upon these competencies. Within the framework of the Natural Sciences Club, students' activities are expected to contribute to the development of a scientific mindset: a hypothesis must be experimentally confirmed or refuted so that it becomes a theory and thereby reliable knowledge.