At the beginning of the visit, we visited the Oodi library and learned about the technological possibilities it offered. Irish youth worker Armands Vaikuls talked about the national policy and support in Ireland for the use of STEAM elements in youth work. We saw the everyday life of youth workers at the municipal youth house and later also visited the Loimaa theater, where the youth workers learned how the theater integrates digital technologies in its work. We met with a young man from Finland who gave his perspective on education, especially in the STEAM field.

We learned more about our collaboration partner Loimaa Evangelical Folk School – LEKO (leko.fi). We learned about its history and how it has evolved, the support it provides to children, youth and immigrants, as well as the working methods and services used by LEKO when working with at-risk families and children.

One of the methods when working with students is learning by doing. It promotes students’ understanding of, for example, ecology and reinforces basic skills for everyday activities, such as waste sorting.

We also visited the Agricultural Museum Sarka. There, the youth workers learned how the museum incorporates digital technologies in its exhibits – one of which is a walk in a 3D environment. The museum also lets you exploring the exhibits in a virtual environment, and it ensures the accessibility of the museum to visitors of different nationalities, by incorporating digital translations about the exhibits.

Nearing the end of the visit we explored the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant and visited the Finnish city of Rauma, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Then it was time to get down to practical lessons. Armands Vaikuls, an Irish youth worker, demonstrated how to involve young people in the construction of various devices to improve their skills in electronics.

We learned the basics of LEGO robotics under the guidance of  Nora Meire, the head of LEGO robotics classes at the Development and Innovation Learning Center (AIMC) and teacher of Ogres 1st Secondary School. She was assisted by AIMC manager Ieva Vītoliņa. Robots were built and then programmed to perform certain tasks.

Latvian and Finnish youth workers also got acquainted with animation. An animation film about the Latvian folk song “Ziedi, ziedi, rudzu vārpa” was made with the help of artist, animator, director and animation teacher of the Technical Innovation House “Annas 2” Dace Liepa. The music was provided by the youth workers themselves.

At the end of the visit, the youth workers evaluated the skills they learned during the visit and discussed ideas for future projects.