On February 22nd, 13 6th grade girls (ages 11-12 years old) from public primary school number 2 – Szkoła Podstawowa im. Komisji Edukacji Narodowej w Białobrzegac in Poland participated in an IGNITE event.
The girls met an expert in the field of urban design! Ms. Marta Urbańska works at the University as a lecturer of urban design and is a freelancer in urban planning and graphic design. Moreover, she cooperates with the NGO “Code for Poland,” where she helps to design applications for smart cities. The girls enjoyed the last event with Ms. Marta so much that we decided to prepare for more events with this expert!
This time, the girls were wondering about what it means to be “a city.” The girls suggested the following answers for things that make a “city”: buildings, roads, infrastructure, but the most important are people. The girls added that cities should be built for people, to make their lives better! As an example, the expert talked with the girls about the former New York Central Railroad, which wasn’t ruined but transformed into a linear park called The High Line Park. Its inventor was Amanda Burden, a very talented City Planning Commissioner and Ms. Marta’s idol, who has changed the image of New York!
Then, the expert asked the girls to design a chair and asked them to show their sketches. Later, she asked them to draw a place to sit. This part was very creative and the girls came up with many different options. This exercise was to show how we can change our approach to simple things by giving more flexibility.
I would like to thank Ms. Marta Urbańska, who has inspired girls to act, and special thanks to Ms. Kasia Klich-Charlicka, who coordinated the group and encouraged girls to develop their passions. I would also like to thank Cathi and Becky for their constant support.
After attending this event:
100%
of students want to continue attending IGNITE Worldwide events
60%
of students will ask their teacher about additional STEM activities
60%
of students want to study harder to attend college and further their education
Here’s what the students thought of the event:
“She has a very interesting job and I like how she talks about it!“
“I would like to meet Ms. Marta again!“
“I liked everything!“