Final of Spanish Schools Crystallization Competition
Granada, Spain
11 May 2013
The Spanish Schools Crystallization Competition, aimed at students and teachers in secondary and high schools, aims primarily to use the natural attraction of the phenomenon of crystallization to teach high school students how to make and enjoy science, and about working in the field of science. The competition format involves all the ingredients of the scientific method: from research laboratory to the presentation of results in a forum-type 'scientific conference'.
The Final Competition was held in the Faculty of Science at the University of Granada on May 11, 2013 with more than 200 high school students, from the provinces of Seville, Granada, Malaga, Cadiz and Cordoba, and was judged by a panel of researchers and representatives from scientific associations. Each of the 40 participating schools in the final was represented by a team of three students and a teacher who presented a selection of the crystals obtained, and a scientific poster detailing the objectives, materials, methods, results and conclusions.
These photographs demonstrate how young students learn crystallization and crystallography. They learn to perform experiments and to analyze experimental results, and how to defend their results in a scientific atmosphere. They also learn how to write a laboratory notebook and how to present their results attractively. They gain experience in discussing science, and they are also taught to compete fairly and to learn from other teams.
