Since its establishment in 2006, the Children Research Foundation has been one of Germany’s most important initiatives for early childhood education in the fields of mathematics, information technology, natural sciences and technology (STEM) as well as education for sustainable development (ESD). It is Germany’s largest educational initiative for educational specialists, teachers and managers in daycare centres, primary schools and after-school care centres.
The non-profit organisation has set itself the goal of getting children interested in natural phenomena and technical thinking as early as preschool and primary school age and supporting educational professionals with practice-oriented training courses. Good and, above all, early STEM education for sustainable development forms the core of the foundation’s training programme. Through joint research, children are encouraged to ask questions, formulate hypotheses and seek explanations. They conduct experiments and observe what happens, document and reflect on their experiences. In this way, they develop a critical attitude and the ability to find solutions together with others.
In 2020, an initiative was also launched in collaboration with the Reading Foundation that combines research and reading: the children’s magazine “echt jetzt?” (really now?) for third and fourth grade primary school pupils. The magazine supports teachers in practising reading with children and conducting research with them in class. The magazine offers primary school teachers a wealth of ready-to-use materials that creatively combine reading promotion and STEM education.
With 94,000 training participants and more than 38,000 daycare centres, after-school care centres and primary schools taking part in the initiative, the Children Research Foundation is a broad-based network. The foundation is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family, Seniors, Women and Youth, among others. Nationwide, more than 200 local network partners are working to implement comprehensive STEM offerings – one of them is the Rosenheim Technical University in the MINTregion18 (www.mintregion18.de).
MINTregion18: Regional structure for practical STEM training
MINTregion18 is a network initiated by the Technical University of Applied Sciences Rosenheim, which has been serving as the central regional contact point for STEM education in south-eastern Upper Bavaria since November 2023. In the region, it covers the districts of Altötting, Berchtesgadener Land, Mühldorf am Inn, Rosenheim and Traunstein and brings together stakeholders from education, business and administration. Under this umbrella, as a network partner of the Kinder forschen foundation, a structured training programme for educational specialists and teachers from daycare centres, after-school care centres and primary schools in STEM subjects was also developed, requiring no prior knowledge.
Through their own experimentation and reflection, participants learn how to competently accompany children aged 3 to 10 in their discovery and research. The topics range from basic mathematical concepts and scientific phenomena to technical questions and sustainability-related projects. Magnetism, research with water, light, carbon dioxide or air, mathematics in space and form: there are no limits to the topics. The informative website www.stiftung-kinder-forschen.de also offers experiments to replicate, a digital learning platform and free online courses for educational specialists and teachers.
A central element of the regional programme is the modular training courses, which take place at several locations in the MINTregion18 and can be attended flexibly. In addition, there is the option of conducting in-house training courses directly at the local facilities, which further lowers the barriers to participation as the training courses can be more easily integrated into everyday working life. All courses are conducted by trainers who are regularly trained by the Kinder forschen foundation itself to ensure a high standard of quality.
Science meets practice: the role of Rosenheim Technical University
The role of Rosenheim Technical University goes beyond the mere organisation of training courses. As the head of the local network, it contributes scientific expertise, organisational capacities and regional networking strength. In this way, the university acts as a link between research and practice. The training courses are pedagogically sound, didactically modern and scientifically sound. Close cooperation with regional partners underlines the importance of this project for the regional educational landscape.
The success of this cooperation is also evident in the accompanying network activities: regular specialist conferences, such as the Future Skills Conference at Rosenheim Technical University, attract education professionals from across the MINTregion18 and address current developments such as digitalisation and climate change. These events not only impart specialist knowledge, but also promote exchange and strengthen regional networks for sustainable educational development.
An important result of the local work is the certification of educational institutions as “houses where children do research”. This award recognises kindergartens and primary schools that have consistently integrated STEM education into their everyday lives and cultivate a culture of inquiry and curiosity. They demonstrate how diverse and creative STEM education can be at the local level and how it encourages children to ask questions, form hypotheses and discover connections on their own.
The Kinder forschen initiative in the MINTregion18 stands for a holistic, practical and sustainable approach to education. The structured training programme, scientific foundation and regional cooperation enrich the educational landscape in south-eastern Upper Bavaria. Rosenheim Technical University plays a central and formative role as a partner and driving force for future-oriented STEM education.
Photo: Christoph Wehrer/ (c) Stiftung Kinder forschen
