Erasmus+ Project Airnet by Tilen Klinc

Erasmus+ project Airnet AirNet is a project that is aimed at students aged between 14 and 18 who come from Sindelfingen, Dronfield, Málaga, Barcelona, Idrija and Kourou. They work together analysing the topic of “air” from different perspectives, such as “air” in science, technology, music and art. In each country students and teachers prepare a project meeting. Each school puts the main emphasis on an issue that is typical of their country and organizes learning activities for all the participants. During the project meetings priority is given to an essential objective: students from different cultural and social backgrounds come together and learn from each other. By co-operating in European teams students learn how to overcome linguistic and cultural obstacles, develop a higher degree of tolerance and enjoy cooperation in heterogeneous teams. The topic of “air” was chosen because it is crucial for the environment although less emphasis is placed on it than on other natural resources. Moreover, it has a lot of connections with the subjects mentioned before and thus a lot of students with different interests can be motivated. Some of the project objectives are to make students develop their personality and achieve better professional competences, which will have a positive effect on their future 2

lives. Through the intensive study of different aspects of “air” in joint teams students gain more expert knowledge, widen their linguistic competence (English, French, German and Spanish) and develop creative ideas. As to the results of the project, students will deliver their contributions in the form of new media (video/sound/ picture/illustration/presentation of homepage and apps). Another objective is to enrich a teacher’s job by new challenges and activities and thus increase their motivation and self-confidence. During the project ideas and results will be presented and published as didactic modules for colleagues, so the quality of teaching on this topic will be improved. So far 5 out of 6 international excganges gave taken place: • Malaga (6 March - 11 March 2015) • Dronfield (17 April - 22 April 2015) • Kourou (8 Novemner - 16 November 2015) • Barcelona (12 April - 17 April 2016) • Idrija (6 November - 12 November 2016) The last exchange will be organised in Sindelfingen (27 March – 1 April 2017).

On the following pages you can read reports on interesting workshops and activities that were part of the exchange in Idrija.

schools taking part in the project Goldberg-Gymnasium, Sindelfingen (Germany) • a general grammar school specialised in art, sciences & technology, languages • experiments on the refrigerating circuit, cooperation with Bitzer - a firm producing refrigeration units, air art objects consisting of different materials, exhibition “pictures in motion”; excursions Deutsche Schule Barcelona/Colegio Alemán de Barcelona (Spain) • general education school with different branches, main branch: the grammar school • emphasis on music, biological diversity in the air; excursions

Dronfield-Henry-Fanshawe-School (Great Britain):

IES La Rosaleda Málaga (Spain): • professional school with emphasis on technology and gastronomy • air pollution, bio-indicators, noise pollution; excursions Lycée Gaston Monnerville Kourou (French Guiana): • general education school • ornithology and entomology, aerospace technology (IAS), construction of special kites; excursions, e.g. into the rain-forest Jurij Vega Grammar School Idrija (Slovenia): • general grammar school, mechanical technician, mechatronic operator • chemical and physical parameters of air pollution, construction of a quadcopter; excursions

• specialist Technology College • construction of flying objects, sound of air/wind, physics of the air; excursions 3

Monday In the morning everybody headed towards a large presentation room and were shown a comedy sketch performed by Slovenian students. It was very funny and it made everybody laugh. Afterwards, we were shown what was going to happen during the week, such as how to make water rockets and android apps. Finally, we were split into six teams. Excited, we walked to the first workshop on designing and making water rockets. We first built the basic rocket by cutting two bottles in halves and sticking them together. Then we cut out and attached cardboard fins to help the rocket fly and to stop it from spinning. Finally, we screwed in some metal in the lid and the rockets were ready to fly. We filled them with water, compressing the air, and then pulled out a metal fork holding them in place. They went up very high and if anyone was too close they got wet.

When we flew them all, we went back inside and painted them. After lunch, students from Dronfield made a presentation on kites, which started with the physics of kites and a quiz. Once that was done, everybody went into their teams and built a big kite and then attempted to fly it. Nearly all the kites flew, but a few got torn after crashing into a tree and the ground. Finally, the organisers decided to make us even more tired. We played ‘Ultimate Frisbee’, badminton and table tennis. The teachers also played table tennis, so we were not the only ones tired! Exhausted we were taken home by our host families and we spent the rest of the evening with them. By team 1: Christopher Gaug, Matthew David Hale, Adriana Dafti Marcik, Janez Petrič and Urban Čibej

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TUESDAY In the week that Erasmus+ meeting took place, students from Barcelona, Malaga, Sindelfingen, Dronfield and Idrija met in Slovenia and took part in many activities on the topic of air. On Tuesday the students from Barcelona presented their project on the design and aerodynamics of gliding planes. Each of the six multinational teams had to design a plane based on the characteristics of one of the countries taking part in Erasmus +. The team whose plane was related to Barcelona created a mosaic-like design in the style of GaudĂ. The team based on Slovenia were inspired by the flying fish in the design of their glider, so they stuck silver scales on the body of the glider and wrote the Slovenian motto on the wings. The English team covered their plane with the typical English things such as tea, football and the countryside. The Malaga team painted their plane red to represent the Spanish flag and covered it with typical Spanish phrases and expressions. There was a silver 6

plane designed by the German team. Students put the German flag on it and wrote some useful German phrases on the body. The French team stuck feathers on their aircraft and painted the countryside on its back. When we took the planes to the gym to fly them they were brilliant. However, due to an assortment of crashes and mid-air collisions the planes began to break. Wings fell off and fuselages smashed until after less than fifteen minutes there were no planes in one piece. The Slovenian students stuck the planes back together and fixed the breakages so the planes could be hung up displaying the artwork. In the afternoon we looked at the ideal atmospheric conditions for a classroom. We investigated the pressure, CO2 levels, noise levels, etc. We looked at the conditions experienced in a classroom over a week and compared them to the ideal conditions for a class of students who are studying. We finally talked about how we could change the air temperature, humidity, noise, and CO2 level in the classroom to improve the conditions for everyone.

The last thing we did on Tuesday was visiting the old mercury mine called “Anthony’s Shaft”. The mine was very interesting as we saw the underground. We had to wear helmets and jackets to keep us safe and warm. We really enjoyed the day because we learnt a lot of interesting information and we got to know each other a lot better. By team 2: Harry MacLeod, Luana Miessl and Kristof Laczik, Krištof Treven and Dani Bratuž

Wednesday By Wednesday, we had already become friends in our groups so the activities were good fun. First we listened to the interesting presentation of the German students, who showed us how to make origami, which had the form of swans. When putting them all together to a Mobile it looked beautiful. At 12 o’clock we had lunch in the school cafeteria while socializing with students from other schools. After lunch, students from Malaga gave their presentations on the meteorological phenomenon called ‘Cold Drop’, which caused a disaster in Malaga many years ago. The second presentation was on how helicopters fly and how they are constructed.

In the afternoon we went for a walk through the town in nationally mixed groups to train our orienteering skills. We visited the most important sights and the Slovenian students waited for us at certain points and presented the sights. We think this was one of the best activities, because we were active and also learned a lot about Idrija. Having done all the activities, we went to a bar with our host students and had some hot chocolate with cream. It was great! By team 3: Claudia Guillén González, Andrew James Hale, Žiga Markovič, Tilen Mavri and Maria Boqué Guillem

Thursday On Thursday the Erasmus+ group had an early start ready to set off to Pipistrel Aircraft, which is located in Ajdovščina. We received a short, yet eye-opening presentation from the Public Relations Manager at Pipistrel, Taja Boscarol, about the history of the company. This included finding out about some of the different light aircraft that Pipistrel produce, many of which have won various prestigious rewards from organisations such as NASA, for example the Virus. This plane is a fast, yet very economic cruise aircraft that received an award from Nasa in 2008 in the NASA GAT Challenge. The Virus is 19% more fuel efficient while flying and 23% faster than the popular Flight Design CTSW. We also got to see one aircraft being landed as well as another two aircraft taking off, ready for test flights. Two of the Erasmus+ students were also lucky enough to be given the chance to sit inside one of the aircraft. When we had finished at Pipistrel, we drove to Postojna to visit the Postojna cave, but first we all stopped in the cafe for a drink. The Postojna cave is the second longest cave in Slovenia, however it is the only cave with a train system running through it. 10

We travelled around 2km by train before getting off and taking an onfoot tour of the cave. Our tour guide stopped at various points to explain some of the history of the cave, giving us the chance to take in some of the breathtaking sights inside the cave, and giving us the perfect opportunity to take some photos of the beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations. We saw the Proteus Anguinus, a type of animal that normally lives in the deepest levels of the cave and is only found in this region. We also saw live video footage of the 3 month-old baby olms, which were born earlier this year. During our train ride back to the cave entrance, we saw the Pivka river, which runs through the Postojna cave. After leaving Postojna cave, we went into the cafe restaurant, where we enjoyed a lovely meal together before getting back on the bus to return to Idrija. Overall, everyone really enjoyed Thursday’s activities, and spending time developing our newfound, international friendships. By team 4: Megan Spotswood, Tim Voncina, Cengiz Ertugrul and Sara Bouamra Martínez

Friday On Friday we wrote our final reports and made an evaluation of the project. Then we unexpectedly received a surprise. The Slovenian teacher Tanja Pirih brought us a big chocolate cake, which she baked herself. The delicious cake was gone immediately. After lunch we went to Ljubljana. We visited Jožef Stefan Institute in Dol pri Ljubljani, where we were first given a tour around their laboratories. This institute is the leading Slovenian research organisation. It is responsible for a broad spectrum of basic and applied research in the fields of natural sciences and technology. Founded in 1949, the institute works on a wide variety of fields of both scientific and economic interest. The basic goal of the institute is to help train young scientists. After the tour we listened to a lecture about the project City sense, which measures pollution in large cities and after that we made posters about improving air conditions in a classroom based on the air temperature, pressure, noise, CO2 and humidity. After visiting the institute, we went for a walk around

Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Ljubljana has many places of interest, including Ljubljana castle, the old city centre, Dragon Bridge (Zmajski most) and the Triple Bridge (Tromostovje), making it the most iconic city in Slovenia. It also has major cultural significance, illustrated by the wide variety of different museums and art galleries, including the Museum of Architecture and Design and the Museum of Modern Art. In the city centre we had free time to take photos and look around. By team 5: Heather Holmes, Carlota Zoë Carim Maurer, Alberto Miranda Ruiz, Tara Caruso Bizjak and Žan Bašelj

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Impressions of Slovenia The project “Erasmus+ AirNet”, financed by the EU, serves the purpose of introducing students from all over Europe to five different European cultures and studying different aspects of the air. In the second week in November we had the honour of visiting Idrija (Slovenia) and exploring the unique culture of the country. At the beginning of the week the groups arrived from different European countries. Our host families collected us from the different meeting points and introduced us to their families. The people were really welcoming and very polite. The Slovenian hosts did an amazing job introducing us to their culture and customs. For the guests it was interesting to spend a week living a life of a Slovenian. One of the things that was the most shocking for southern European students was the low temperatures and the rainy weather. Another curious thing that we noticed about Slovenian culture

is the food quantity and different meal times. The local speciality called žlikrofi was particularly popular among the guests.. We enjoyed going out for coffee and tasting typical Slovenian dishes. Another impressive Slovenian feature is the stunning nature. Between the remarkable green landscapes and the Postojna Cave the guests were amazed by the diversity of the country’s flora and fauna. The big spaces between the houses and the size of the living area were surprising for the guests as most students come from closely packed areas. For Spanish students the fact that Slovenia has all four seasons is fascinating, since in their home country this does not exist. All the guests were impressed by Slovenia.

By team 6: Maj Kristan, Peter Dodič, Vili Mohorič, Abigail Wright, Thaïs Ayuso Deshmukh, Amanda Peña Cisneros

You can download the mobile apps of our students under the following link: goo.gl/9NSb4Z