会议时间：2018年3月21-23日
会议地点：柬埔寨 · 暹粒
演讲嘉宾：Michael GRABNER, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, Austria

摘要：Sparkling Science is a research program of the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy (BMWFW) of Austria (http://www.sparklingscience.at/en). The specific characteristic of the program is that scientists work side by side with kids and teenagers in current scientific research projects. The research method applied here can be seen as an application of “Citizen Science”.

Up to now it was possible to work in five projects over 10 years within the field of wood culture. Topics like tree ring analyses, climate change, wood species identification, history of wooden buildings, historical wood utilization, wood technology and documentation of handicraft knowledge were the topics of these projects.

School students helped wood scientists with their research work. They collected samples, did measurements and were involved in scientific analyses. By being involved in the scientific process, school pupils also gained knowledge about wood culture. They have learned how to fell trees with axes and hand saws, what historical roof constructions look like, which wood species were in use in former times, how hard it was to produce traditional wooden goods and how complicated it is to document such processes.

“It is very interesting to see and to experience, how hard the manual work was in former times” was one citation of a 18 year old school student, trained in wood technology, after working two days at a historical saw mill.

During the five projects, a lot of scientific data was gained, and a lot of experiences on how to teach wood culture to young people were gathered, too. Hundreds of young people were involved and have learned about “wood culture”.

In conclusion, as described by the school student: The experience on what wood feels, smells and looks like, how hard or easy it is to process and have a peek into “wood culture” is important and will be kept in their minds.