The challenge has been taken up. Now all we’re waiting for is to find out how high school students will manage to interpret the theme of water in relation to the history of the Dolomites, not just through research and experimentation but also through videos and comic strips. The #FossilSeaChallenge is a competition held by the Autonomous Province of Trento, within the context of the work done by the Geological Heritage and the Education and Scientific Research networks of the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation. The aim is to involve the high schools in the provinces of Belluno, Bolzano, Trento, Udine and Pordenone in thinking up and presenting projects for scientific and technical research and communications. And the subjects? They include everything that has modelled and still models every day that heritage in which we live, work and study and which once floated on the ocean floor. In other words the focus is on the action of water in the process of rock formation, action that continues today as it models, defines and enriches the Dolomite landscape, regarded with sheer wonder and amazement by all who live or spend time here.
Entries in the competition come from three schools in the Province of Trento (The Ladin School of Fassa, the Liceo Scientifico Galilei High School and the Rosa Bianca Institute), plus two projects from the Val Boite Institute in the Province of Belluno, one each from the Liceo Linguistico Marcelline High School in Bolzano and from the Collegio Don Bosco in Pordenone. Another project, sent in but not entered in the competition, comes from the Liceo Artistico Bruno Munari in Treviso.
The students are already hard at work, guided by their teachers who took part in a one-day training workshop on 13 January held at the Dolomites Geological Museum in Predazzo and at which various experts provided a framework for planning individual educational courses in preparation for completion of the projects.
This is just one of the many initiatives that the Foundation, through its operating networks, directs at schools of various types and for different ages. The aim is clearly to promote appreciation and enhancement of the World Heritage Site in which we live, raising awareness of it through active participation. Nothing therefore, could be more effective than the opportunity provided by this competition to take an active part in such a valuable learning experience. So, it’s over to you kids – enjoy!
The date set for presentation of the projects and for the prize giving is 15 June.
Ph. Corno di Senons | Eugenio Cappena