Shanghai’s favourite family-friendly festival is back: Maker Faire
Shanghai 2023! And we are attending as a sponsor!
Date: May 27, 2023 to Jun 4, 2023
Venue: The Central Jiujianglu 137
Free entry for kids under 1.2 meters
With the Shanghai Maker Faire coming right around the corner, we would like to tell you about some of our STEAM programs for school trips to China. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of STEAM learning and WildChina Education’s approach to experiential learning. Some STEAM school trips to China we will be sharing today include hands-on learning trips to Shanghai, Gansu, Shenzhen, and Chongqing.
What is Maker Faire Shanghai?
Maker Faire Shanghai hosts design, learning, and interactive workshops that encourage hands-on exploration. The fair is created by Qwokka, a group that organizes family-friendly educational events in Shanghai. Makers invite visitors to engage with everything they see and learn by doing, which is what we value here at WildChina Education, too. Each year, more than 30 schools and 70 exhibitors attend Maker Faire.
The fair is attended by tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, and students. It is also open to international schools, bilingual schools, universities, public schools, and vocational colleges. Both industry professionals and hobbyists can be found at the Maker Faire. By sharing their inventions, attendees promote their alliance with project-based learning (PBL). PBL focuses on the importance of experiential learning, creativity, and innovation, which is the purpose of our STEAM program school trips to China.
What are the Science Academy STEAM Programs?
Science Academy is a premier STEAM education brand that is co-managed by WildChina Education and DXL. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, which are all essential subjects that can inspire students to become lifelong learners. Students in STEAM programs often develop a passion of understanding the world around them in new and exciting ways. STEAM programs are all about learning by doing, no matter which subject you are studying. STEAM programs are carefully curated to spark curiosity and foster an explorer mentality, leaving students with a continued sense of wonder for the unknown. Below are some of our STEAM program school trips to China.
Battling Shanghai’s Invasive Species
With outdoor education, service learning, and eco-diversity in mind, this 4-day school trip to China allows your students to learn about Shanghai’s (上海, shàng hâi) invasive species with our wildlife experts. During this school trip to China, students will learn about the importance of biodiversity, an essential element to the health of our precious planet. The intricacies of climate change, environmental protection, and eco-activism, are also some topics your students will become aware of during this school trip to China.
Starting off this fun and experiential school trip, students get to paddle board or kayak in a local lake. For your community service project, students will visit a local village and learn about local wildlife conservation efforts by dismantling illegal bird-catching nets. They will also be taught how to identify and properly dispose of Shanghai’s invasive species before an outdoor movie night.
Other activities students can participate in during this school trip to China include a geodiversity survey, biking, water testing (TDS/PPM), and an insect identification workshop. Leisure activities include outdoor team-building games, a board game night, and another outdoor movie night.
On your last day, students will learn about the 7 LNT (Leave No Trace) principles and create a final action plan to decrease the negative impact of Shanghai’s invasive species.
Digital China, Factories & Robots
To teach students about China’s technology and manufacturing hub, this 7-day school trip to China brings you to Shenzhen (深圳, shēn zhèn), Guangdong (广东, guâng dōng). During this trip, students get to meet industry professionals and get to know what it’s like to work at a tech company.
Your WildChina program leader will take you on a cultural walking tour of Shenzhen city icons around the CBD (central business district) area in Futian District (福田区, fú tián qū) to learn about the driving forces behind China’s Silicon Valley. In Guanlan Art Village (观澜版画村, guān lán bân huà cūn), students get to tap into their creativity while dyeing T-shirts and learning about the printmaking industry base. This ancient Hakka village has a rich artistic and cultural atmosphere.
At Huaqiangbei (华强北, huá qiáng bêi) Trouble-Maker Space, students get to witness how ideas are transformed into products. This area is a lively community for hardware product developers. After listening to a Shenzhen Innovation Presentation, students can interact with expert makers and attend an interactive lecture about PCB Design (Printed Circuit Board) and PCB prototyping. To explore more of the area, students will partake in a scavenger hunt near the Huaqiangbei E- Markets.
The next day on your school trip to China, you will return to Huaqiangbei Trouble-Maker Space to work on a robot project. The day includes activities such as soldering, laser cutting, assembling, and programming robots.
At Chaihuo Maker Space (柴火创客, chái huô chuàng kè), students can learn engineering and DIY skills as well as software programming and basic hardware. They’ll also learn how to use 3D printers, laser cutters, and an array of prototyping machines. At the end of the day, students will receive certificates from the UB-Tech Robot Company.
On day 6, you will explore OCT Loft Creative Cultural Park, which is an electronics manufacturing factory turned creative district. There are several locations in Shenzhen that have gone through such a transformation, reflecting the city’s shift into an innovation hub. After lunch, you will visit DJI company a dominant market leader in the civilian drone industry. Students will learn about DJI’s corporate culture and drone case studies. As a hands-on learning activity, students will take aerial photographs while flying drones outdoors. To end the day, students will experience the RoboMaster Robotics Competition.
Gansu Palaeontology Dinosaur Dig
This 7-day school trip to Gansu province offers students a hands-on paleontological experience. The exotic landscapes here are part of one of the most unfrequented places in China. Talk about a unique experience! Students will experience dig site work at a couple of different locations, maybe find dinosaur fossils, participate in activities on the sand dunes, and even camp out under the desert stars.
This trip will begin at Dunhuang (敦煌, dūn huáng) airport. The sand dunes here offer a beautiful view at sunset, which students will get to enjoy before a Welcome Dinner. After transferring to Mogao Grottoes the next day and exploring the ancient caves, you’ll transfer to Yumen (玉门, yù mén), check into a hotel, and attend a lecture on dinosaurs.
Students will begin field work at Changma Basin on day 3. The next day brings you to Jiayuguan (嘉峪关, jiā yù guān), where students will explore the west end of the Great Wall of China. The afternoon will be for continuing archeological field work at the White Pagoda Basin. After another lecture, you will set up camp in the desert.
After another day of field work searching for dinosaur fossils, you will then transfer to and explore the Zhangye Danxia Landform (张掖丹霞地貌, zhāng yè dàn xiá dī mào), which is also known as the Rainbow Mountains.
Chongqing STEAM Project
This school trip to China is designed to challenge students in their creativity and innovation through the use of technology. As China’s largest metropolitan area, students will be doing advanced work for each STEAM course in Chongqing (重庆, chóng qìng).
As part of a project to “overthrow Aristotle,” students will work in groups to design the corresponding Goldberg installation drawings. During this STEAM course, students will be able to apply mathematical knowledge such as proportions and coordinate systems. Once that is done, students will build the design into a simple Goldberg mechanism.
For the second STEAM course, students design and manufacture the Goldberg device on friction. While doing this students can study the influencing factors of friction, conduct hands-on experiments, and record experimental processes and phenomena.
The third STEAM course requires students to design and manufacture the Goldberg device for circular motion.
Ready to book your STEAM school trip to China?
STEAM is a highly engaging learning method that works even better when paired with experiential school trips. If you value learning by doing at your institution, why not join us for a fun and educational school trip to China? Our itineraries are fully customizable based on your learning objectives and school curriculum. Simply reach out to our Academic Managers, and they can assist you with anything you need!
Sources: Maker Faire Shanghai & STEAM Programs
- https://www.makerfaireshanghai.com/
- https://wildchinaeducation.com/2022/11/science-academy/
- https://wildchinaeducation.com/tour/chongqing-steam-project/
- https://wildchinaeducation.com/tour/invasive-species-of-shanghai/
- https://wildchinaeducation.com/tour/digital-china-factories-robots/
- https://wildchinaeducation.com/tour/gansu-paleontology-dinosaur-dig/
