The Central and Eastern European Schools Association (CEESA) Middle School Math Counts took place 7-8.2 in Helsinki, bringing together six international schools from across Europe for an exciting competition and valuable learning experiences. The first afternoon kicked off with an unforgettable visit to the University of Helsinki Natural Sciences campus in Kumpula. A total of 48 international students aged between 12-14 got to explore different fields of science with various workshops led by university students and staff. The workshops offered an insight into Chemistry, Geology and Physics.
Various workshops
At the Physics workshop, students learned about electromagnetic waves and thermal radiation, following two hands-on activities where students tried out thermal cameras and an experiment with balloons. The next workshop took students into the world of Chemistry, where they learned the properties of dry ice. They had a fun experiment making bubbles with dry ice. Lastly, at the Geology workshop students got to learn about plate movement and observe thousands of years old rock under microscopes. Students were also able to physically touch the different rock samples.
Engaging science
The students clearly enjoyed the workshops and the hands-on activities. Here are some opinions and thoughts from the young students about the workshops offered. Soyul from Prague said “it was a great opportunity to learn about science, and connect math and science”. Tahsin from Helsinki said “Chemistry because more interactive things, like we did experiments with reactions”. Ava from Vienna said “I really liked the study of rocks, and looking through the microscope to see the different colours rocks interactively”. Antonine from Warsaw said “I like that we learned through experiments and practical things, it was very easy to understand that way and it was fun”.
As the afternoon came to a close, it was evident that the workshops were a fun and memorable experience for all of the students. “I think for the next Math Counts competition in 2026, workshops like these would be great” said Tjokoda from Budapest expressing his excitement. We would like to thank the University of Helsinki students and staff for facilitating, and running these wonderful workshops.
Author Upasana Samantray is a student in International School of Helsinki.