From October 4 to 8, Daugavpils Secondary School No. 3 hosted the participants of the International Chemistry Congress. Unforgettable impressions on everyone were left by wonderful choirs, participating in the Open ceremony.
On the first day, all guests were warmly greeted by Juris Soms, the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of Daugavpils University. In his lecture, the professor noted the importance of chemistry in human life from ancient times to the present day and the role of the younger generation in new discoveries. Evans Griškjāns, a 12th grade student of our school, has demonstrated the operation of chemical laws in practice. The professor himself and the staff of various laboratories introduced us to the exciting equipment and work of researchers. At Daugavpils Innovation Centre, students and teachers enthusiastically experimented with determining banana DNA and tried out the laws of physics on various interactive exhibits.
An important chemistry congress was held on Tuesday, where students were given the opportunity to feel like real scientists. All countries produced and presented posters on “Chemistry around us” and led experiments prepared for the congress: production of glue from skimmed milk (Spain), determination of titratable acidity in milk (Italy), preparation of elephant toothpaste (Belgium), effect of flame on various surfaces (Portugal), glowing stick reaction (Latvia). Each participant had the opportunity to take part in these exciting chemical experiments.
Wednesday’s theme was getting acquainted with Latvian culture and traditions. The participants of the Erasmus + project visited the unique Preili Doll Museum, where they looked with interest at well-known film and cartoon characters, as well as admired other works of the talented artist. With great joy the students and teachers were transferred to another age, trying on the wonderful costumes of princes and princesses, court ladies and musketeers. At the Aglona Bread Museum, guests enjoyed Latvian cuisine and got acquainted with national traditions. Vivid memories of the trip will be remembered for a long time.
Thursday was the last day of the project participants’ stay in Daugavpils. In the morning, they visited the Mark Rothko Art Centre and learned about the history of Dinaburg Fortress, and in the afternoon took part in an interactive chemistry show organized by the Chucha chacha kids club. An international team of teachers summarized the results of the congress and planned the work for the near future. In the evening, the cake with the project logo became a pleasant surprise, and students from different countries who had been friends for a few days did not want to part with each other.
On Friday morning, the international delegation went to Koknese, where everyone had the opportunity to make a souvenir with Latvian symbols in the trade centre “Mazā kāpa”. At the Pharmacy Museum in Riga, students and teachers followed with interest the development of pharmacies for several centuries, visited the laboratory of an alchemist, the house of a traditional healer and the garden of medicinal plants. The last day of the project ended with a tour of the old town of our country’s capital.
It was an unforgettable and valuable experience for the students of our school who chose medicine and languages as their future profession:
A wonderful, exciting week has passed, which gave me a lot of experience. What I enjoyed most was contacting students from other countries, getting to know their culture and learning something new. I also enjoyed the day of the congress, where each country showed experiments. For example, I learned how to make a glowing liquid or how to change the colour of a flame. (Nellija Osmane)
Foreign students proved to be very good and pleasant to talk to. We were all afraid to start talking to each other, at times we didn’t understand each other, but we became very close, which was sad at the thought that we would all soon part. The project gave me new impressions for a lifetime. (Karina Vaidere)
This week was unforgettable. I met new friends and different cultures. I really enjoyed our trip to Aglona, the Bread museum, when we, as one big family, sat at the table and tasted Latvian dishes. Also, I really enjoyed our school disco. Hope this was not our last meeting and we will keep in touch! (Ksenija Petunova)
Convinced of my experience, I can safely say: it is much easier than it seems to do the program and communicate with foreign guests. The most difficult thing in this case – to move from a simple desire to real action. These days were undeniably the best time of my life. (Valērija Prihodko)
I liked our trip to Riga the most, especially the pharmacy museum. There was a lot of new and interesting information and exhibits. It was also very nice to go by bus with other project participants, because we exchanged our news and facts about our countries. (Daria Malysheva)
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