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Save the date - June 21
FREE Members Screening of Antarctica 3D
Join narrator Benedict Cumberbatch and explore the mysterious and wild continent of Antarctica. With never-before-seen footage and the latest underwater filming techniques, this epic movie transports you to the farthest reaches of this majestic land and reveals that what happens there affects every single one of us.
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BBC NHU
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Teachers hand out pineapple on sticks to students during a science activity about the senses. The students will taste the food with eyes closed to reflect on that sense experience.
In March 2025, two educators from the California Science Center traveled to Rwanda to strengthen an innovative international effort: the Science Center’s Partner Program in Primary Science. Over six days, they visited schools, met with teachers and students, and held key discussions with national education leaders—including the new Minister of Education—to observe progress and explore next steps.
This was the fifth visit as part of a multi-year partnership, made possible with grant funding by the Ibrahim El-Hefni Technical Training Foundation, focused on expanding hands-on, inquiry-based science teaching in Rwandan primary schools. Last summer, 400 Rwandan teachers participated in professional development through the Partner Program, learning how to implement hands-on science lessons aligned with Rwanda’s national science and engineering program.
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Students prepare to test their aerodynamic paper designs outside.
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Students work on a guided hands-on science activity.
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Students listen to their teacher's instructions during an outside learning activity.
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Students prepare to test their aerodynamic paper designs outside.
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Students work on a guided hands-on science activity.
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Students listen to their teacher's instructions during an outside learning activity.
A key part of the program’s success is its collaborative design. It is developed in close partnership with Rwandan educators and leaders, with a strong focus on supporting the country’s educational goals, incorporating its culture, and working within the national curriculum. Lessons are designed to be practical and relevant, using locally sourced materials so teachers can confidently implement hands-on science with the resources they have.
During this latest trip, Science Center staff visited classrooms to see how that training is being applied. At every school, students were actively engaged in science lessons—and teachers were creatively adapting them based on available supplies. This flexibility and problem-solving reflect a strong shift toward the engineering mindset encouraged through the program. The team also saw more student collaboration and peer-to-peer engagement than in previous visits, signaling a clear move toward student-centered, inquiry-based learning.
I will try to make [these] learners engineers, so that they think and build solutions for different real-life situations. I will try to use science activities so that my learners will be able to use this prior knowledge during [science] lessons.
P4-P6 Teacher, Muhanga District
The team also met with the new Minister of Education and the Director General of the Rwanda Education Board. Both expressed strong support for the program and extended an invitation to continue and expand the partnership over the next three years—building on the success so far and deepening the long-term impact of hands-on science in Rwanda’s schools.
Looking ahead, the Science Center will return to Rwanda in August, 2025 to deliver three more teacher training sessions—bringing the total number of teachers trained to 1,000. In addition, plans are underway to begin working with Rwanda’s Teacher Training Colleges, where the Science Center can support the training of all new primary school teachers—creating a powerful pathway to scale the program nationally.
We are deeply grateful for the philanthropic support of the Ibrahim El-Hefni Technical Training Foundation that makes this impactful collaboration with the Rwandan Ministry of Education possible.
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Tracie Spence Photography
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Nathan Alexander
