The Face of Education WOMAI and Physics at Your Fingertips!

Education does not end at school and there are many opportunities for a child to catch the knowledge bug.

In the series "Faces of Education", we show mathematics, biology, chemistry, art and technology from a slightly different perspective than at school. We introduce people who are passionate about teaching children and show how science can be interesting and even fascinating!

With an open face and delighted eyes, we listened to Damian Stachura (nomen omen for science and technology specialist at WOMAI) talk about light splitting, his "idols" who have made their mark in the "technical" history of the world, optical illusion... Listen to what he has to say about education : -) and physics, which is everywhere at your fingertips!

Kids in Kraków: Did you like physics at school? What was your favourite subject at school?

Damian Stachura: Looking at my educational background, it may seem surprising, but to be honest, physics was not a subject I liked at school. Of course, at different stages of my education, my passion for physics evolved, but unfortunately not through school per se, but more through my brother, a biophysicist by training. Thanks to him, I also had easy access to books that presented physics not as a set of rules, not as something you have to learn to pass, but as everything that surrounds us. As for other subjects, I liked PE and mathematics very much, and, depending on the teacher who taught me, also history and geography.

Kids in Kraków: How do you teach physics so that it doesn't boil down to formulas, learning the rules by heart, and memorising terminology?

Damian Stachura: First of all, you have to change your thinking about physics. The question is not how to teach physics, because physics cannot be taught. The question is how to show physics so that every lesson is a revelation of a shred of mystery. So that the lesson is not just a boring chatterbox, it has to be shown, told about the things around us, all confirmed by experiments, so that the pupil, when he comes home, feels like talking about what he has seen, can boast that he knows why something works. He has to see a sense in what he is learning, it has to be useful to him. That's why I think it's very easy to do a physics lesson because you can show it so that the student experiences it with their whole self.

Kids in Kraków: What do you think is most important in educating children? How to talk about difficult topics in an interesting and even entertaining way?

Damian Stachura: Personally, I think the most important thing is a relaxed approach. Being a teacher, you should put your academic titles and age difference out of your mind and talk to the student a bit as an equal. This helps to make the lesson not like a lecture, but like a story, which can lead to a very interesting discussion. Also, the right attitude of the teacher helps. I think the words of Albert Einstein could be such a signpost, that the teacher should not waste time asking questions to show what the pupil does not know, but ask questions to reveal what the pupil knows and can still learn.

Kids in Krakow: Is it true that there is physics at your fingertips in the WOMAI exhibition "Into the Light"?

Damian Stachura: I would say that physics is at our fingertips all around us, wherever we are. However, what we, the guides, do in the “Into the Light” exhibition is to help you notice it. I think this is the most important message we want to convey to our visitors, so that when they leave, their perspective changes a little. Of course, all of this is dressed up in a fun and interesting way so that everyone leaves here happy.

WOMAI is....

a centre of education and experience. A place full of passion, where each of us can break away from everyday problems and for a moment enter a magical and unusual world, although one that has always accompanied us in our everyday lives. In the exhibition "Into the dark", this is the world of the blind, while in the exhibition "Into the light", which we have already mentioned in passing, it is the world of physics, filled with science and curiosities. In any case, I cordially invite everyone to enter our realm and confront their own beliefs.

Author - Barbara Fijał | Kidsinkrakow