Goal

The Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centers goal is to teach science to high school students in an in-depth and interactive way, by measuring the world and drawing conclusions from the measurements.

Objectives

Our professional teams provide a new model of science education for youth in Israel.

We build large (4,500 m**2) Science Education Campuses in each community we serve, to which all students choosing science come to study Physics or Chemistry. as part of their regular daily school schedule. Though full of expanded scientific content, ours is not an enrichment program. We take on the responsibility of formal education in science with expanded free choice learning.

The teachers and the physical environment—professional scientific facilities, lab equipment, dedicated campuses — charge the students with scientific interest, knowledge, and perspective.

We inspire the students to consider science not only as a professional activity, but as a philosophy of life, where questions are asked, and facts are rationally used in decision-making.

Organization Background:

The Schwartz/Reisman Science Education Centers, whose establishment was spearheaded by Prof. Haim Harari and enhanced by Prof. Daniel Zajfman, both of the Weizmann Institute of Science, bring a new message to the field of science education for youth in Israel. Through their state-of-the-art science education campuses, they are making an educational impact by shaping a generation of youth who are passionate about science and technology.

Each of the existing campuses - in the cities of Tel Aviv, Rehovot, Rishon LeZion, Jerusalem and Netivot - is a regional hub of cutting-edge curricular science. The campuses provide a unique environment for outstanding students from multiple high schools to pursue their interests in science. To offer the best-possible learning conditions to these students, the campuses are equipped with advanced science labs, an expert teaching team with MSc- or PhD-level scientific backgrounds, and a culture of collaboration and exchange – which are not affordable or accessible to individual high-schools.

A significant number of municipalities across the country seek to implement this science education model in their communities, as a catalyst for improving science education in their region, based on the current campuses’ resounding impact and success. The municipalities decided to do so following an in-depth examination process, which scrutinized the model’s immediate impact on the learners and the community, as well as its future impact, in terms of the local human capital – with growing numbers of STEM graduates in each region contributing to science, the economy, and social development by establishing high-tech startups and other ventures.