The Provincial Government reported that the Ministry of Education joins the initiative developed by the Bunge y Born Foundation and invites schools and civil society organizations in the province of Córdoba to the Cosmic Dome Challenge 2024.
This is a proposal to participate in a playground game designed especially to stimulate early childhood education. As a result, 100 domes will be installed in different parts of Argentina.
The Cosmic Dome is a game designed to accompany girls and boys, and their teachers, during early childhood, a period in which play is one of the main tools to learn about the world, develop and enhance future learning.
It is a recreational space that turns patios into open-air classrooms and aims to enhance recreation time, to contribute to the learning of cognitive and motor skills identified as precursors to learning.
It is based on scientific evidence and created by a team made up of industrial designers, occupational therapists, neuropsychologists and specialists in child development and education.
The award includes a manual with more than 60 activities and an intensive course taught by specialists in education and early childhood to promote the use of this pedagogical tool.
In this regard, Horacio Ferreyra, Minister of Education, said: “Our Ministry invites initial level educational institutions throughout the Province to participate in this Challenge proposed by the Bunge y Born Foundation within the framework of the multiple initiatives that we are carrying out. in our schools to promote multiple literacies with special emphasis on scientific literacy. Promoting scientific thinking by stimulating cognitive and motor skills in the game is a great opportunity.”
The Executive Director of the Bunge y Born Foundation, Gerardo della Paolera, explained: “This playground game has been specially designed to increase the cognitive and motor skills of girls and boys. It was a four-year job, in which we first installed them in Mendoza and did an evaluation and training of the teachers who use this game.”
“These are collective actions with which we can all move forward,” he concluded.
Who can participate?
Initial level schools, public or private management, and civil society organizations throughout Argentina, with experience and accreditable background, that work with children from 2 to 6 years old. They can be early childhood centers, community kitchens, picnic areas, homes, neighborhood clubs, game libraries, popular libraries, among others.
What are the requirements to participate?
Schools must be registered in the Official Register of Educational Establishments of the Province of Córdoba (have a Unique Establishment Code -CUE-).
Meanwhile, civil society organizations must be made up of two (2) people or more, have a seniority of 5 years or more and a relative track record of 2 years or more in activities and projects aimed at children between 2 and 6. years of age from vulnerable contexts.
Also, have a space available for the installation of the dome and the corresponding authorizations for the development of the declared activities.
How to participate in the Cosmic Dome Challenge?
It is necessary to enter www.domocosmico.org to complete the form. The call will be open until July 4, 2024.
Early Childhood
During the first five years of life, children’s brains grow and develop more rapidly than at any other time in life. At the same time, his first experiences define how he will develop later.
Early learning forms a solid foundation for later learning and successful education in the future (National Research Council Institute of Medicine, 2000).
In addition, there is evidence about the impact in the short and long term, both on the lives of children and on the economy of the countries that invest in this stage.
To acquire the first learning it is necessary to previously have certain levels of cognitive functions fundamental for thinking, and to have also developed key motor skills. Different studies associate them with reading ability, mathematical skills, with success in standardized measures of academic performance and even with emotional regulation.
Dome Features
This playful space allows children to climb, play and learn with interactive panels. It concentrates most of the activities linked to gross motor skills and functions as support for different activity panels, which address other domains of development. The system is complemented by a three-dimensional puzzle, where each of its parts serves to promote free play, planning and cooperation.
Individual soft elements – polex tubes – allow the loose parts to be connected to the fixed core. That way, the child can adapt the device to her imagination, create her own scenario and her own games.
Furthermore, it works from the cosmological and spatial as semantic triggers, as an incentive for the symbolic game to develop, but without conditioning the imagination.
Inside the dome there are 9 activity panels. Each one with a specific objective, according to a cognitive or motor domain.
The project has a manual for teachers, with activities so that they can use the game as a classroom resource and achieve its maximum potential.
The Bunge and Born Foundation (FBB) is a non-profit organization, founded in 1963. It promotes the development of novel solutions to educational, cultural, scientific and public health problems.
