Under the Auspices of
Birthplace of STE(A)M
BIRTHPLACE OF STE(A)MWhat do Van Gogh’s portraits share in common with millennials’ selfies?
Social media avatars with ancient Greek masks? Tree leaves with the Minotaur’s labyrinth? We have the answers!
Social media avatars with ancient Greek masks? Tree leaves with the Minotaur’s labyrinth? We have the answers!
1,950€
Includes accommodation (3-star), full board, all domestic transfers, entrance fees, taxes and tuition
10 days / 9 nights
Departing:
Contact us for details
Interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics? Intrigued to explore, contact and experience their birthplace? Fascinated and curious about the algorithms, analogue computers, advanced mechanisms and inventions created by ancient Greeks?
So are we! Join us in an adventure of exploration and invention! Experience firsthand how ancient Science and Technology shaped world history, and how Mathematics were first integrated with Art in ancient Greece!
DAY 1 / ARRIVE IN SANTORINI
Whether you have travelled across continents or from a neighboring country, you will be warmly welcomed by our expert staff to an exclusive three course dinner with perhaps the best view the Aegean Sea has to offer – the setting sun from Santorini’s prime spot, Oia.
Your accompanying professors shall introduce you to your upcoming and truly amazing Cycladic STE(A)M adventure over local delicacies and the island’s famous Vinsanto!
Dinner
DAY 2 / INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTATIONAL THINKING & COMPUTATIONAL PEDAGOG
Tutor: Psycharis (Dr)
We start our day with a visit to the island’s Arts Factory Museum where you will be introduced to the industrial past of Santorini and the cultivation, processing and production of its world-famous cherry-sized tomato.
Rest assured that you will do more than just look, as there will be plenty of touching and tasting activities involved, especially over a luscious lunch with lots of local delicacies.
The first lab session of the day will introduce you to how Mathematics and Art can be combined, and you shall use your Arduino to exhibit the algorithm and pattern of the triangles you will be constructing.
Next, you will learn how to create your very own robotic painter using open-source software for a 3D printer. You will also put your pictures from the Art Factory Museum to good use as you will create your own Agamograph.
Dinner will be enjoyed in the island’s capital, Fira, with its many little shops and narrow streets. Instagramers shall appreciate its hidden spots overlooking the caldera for perhaps some of the most memorable pictures you will ever take!
Breakfast 
Lunch Dinner
DAY 3 / GREECE, THE BIRTHPLACE OF COMPUTATION IDEA I
Tutor: Psycharis (Dr)
We start our day with a short drive to the excavation site at Akrotiri where archaeologists painstakingly unearth to this day one of the best-preserved settlements dating as far back as 4,500 BCE. Comprised of multi-storey buildings preserved under volcanic ash, Akrotiri is Greece’s very own Pompeii, although its inhabitants were fortunate enough to safely evacuate it before the volcano erupted. All excavation findings are safely kept and displayed in the island’s Prehistoric Museum where we will be spending the rest of the morning learning about Santorini’s geology and Neolithic and Late Cycladic history.
Lunch will follow at yet another unique spot, one of the island’s best vineyards. Appropriate local mezzes shall accompany the wide variety of wines available to your sampling.
The first lab session of the day will initiate you to the intriguing Antikythera Mechanism with the help of your Arduino. You will learn how to put Scratch Software to good use to improve your computational thinking skills in tackling real life challenges.
You will also learn how to create simple programs to measure natural quantities such as solar radiation and vibration, as well as how to use actuators in collecting data from real phenomena, how to analyze them and make inferences.
Dinner will be served at a picturesque tavern offering more than just great food – the view will certainly blow your mind!
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
DAY 4 / GREECE, THE BIRTHPLACE OF COMPUTATION IDEA II
Tutor: Psycharis (Dr)
There are 7 seas in the world and 372 thousand miles of coastline. There is only one volcano, though, you can swim in! Today, we will take a private cruise to the volcano and a little inhospitable and uninhabited island in the caldera created by its eruption. Pictures are guaranteed to be out-of-this-world, much like the experience of swimming in the warm volcanic waters in the open sea on the way to another small island also created by the eruption.
After our hour-long stop off-shore, we will proceed to the picturesque Thirasia Island, where we will be riding donkeys up the hill to a local fish tavern waiting for us to take our lunch. Our accompanying professor shall be explaining the history of all three islands, their creation and importance through the ages.
The first lab session of the day will “rock your world” as you will be asked to simulate Thira’s volcanic eruption! You will explore the seismic equipment currently used by scientists and be initiated to the lost world of Atlantis using your Arduino platform. Your part will be rather tricky as you will be asked to explore the bottom of the sea in search for Atlantis using your very own electronic device that you will have just created using your Arduino platform and ultrasonic sensor.
Finally, you will be asked to create your own digital story on Atlantis which you may share with your friends back home if you want to!
Dinner will be enjoyed in Fira at a restaurant favored by locals for its home-cooked dishes.
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
DAY 5 / GREECE AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF STEAM
Tutor: Psycharis (Dr)
We start our day by visiting the famous Santorini windmills at the southern end of the island, Emporio. Over 70 mills were built over the ages, some of them dating back to the 14th century. We will also have the chance to dive in to Aegean waters at one of the island’s most popular beaches.
Lunch will be enjoyed by the sea before we proceed to the first lab session of the day during which you will be asked to develop a windmill using a DC motor on your Arduino platform. Later in the day you will learn how to program and control your windmill through Arduino sensors.
Your dinner tonight will be rather special as it will be enjoyed to the sound of live local music.
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
DAY 6 / IMPLEMENTING AUTOMATION IN WINE PRODUCTION I
Tutor: Kalovrektis (Dr)
Our day today holds a morning visit to a black volcanic beach and an afternoon visit to yet another vineyard, one of the finest the island has to offer. Appropriate local mezzes shall accompany the wide variety of wines available to your sampling. You will be introduced to local wine making techniques and collect information on optimum climate conditions to refer to in developing your own greenhouse during the lab session that follows.
You will be asked to use temperature and moisture sensors to develop an automation network to help you regulate the environment in your greenhouse.
Perhaps this activity will help develop a new appreciation of nature and its products, which you will be feasting on at dinner tonight!
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
DAY 7 / IMPLEMENTING AUTOMATION IN WINE PRODUCTION IΙ
Tutor: Kalovrektis (Dr)
Our day starts with a drive to the highest point of the island, Prophet Elias Monastery, offering a birds-eye view of the entire area, the submerged crater and the bluest of blue seas, the Aegean.
Whether it is the fresh air or your accompanying professor’s depiction of Santorini’s gastronomy that has opened your appetite, it will be handsomely satisfied during your private gastronomic tour of the island’s unique Mediterranean tradition.
Today’s lab session will have you finetune yesterday’s greenhouse in creating the optimum environmental conditions for the crop of your preference. You will explore the potential of sensors in agricultural activities and put them to the test by simulating sunlight using Arduino programming.
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
DAY 8 / GREEK MYTHOLOGY - TALOS, THE FIRST ROBOT
OPEN HARDWARE, OPEN SOFTWARE I
Tutor: Kalovrektis (Dr)
First visit of the day is at Santorini’s Archaeological Museum where you will be guided through its vast collection of artifacts, evident to the island’s early sea domination and subsequent natural disasters that tormented it through the ages. Your accompanying professor shall introduce you to the early settlement of Thira and the events that followed until its eventual demise.
After a mouth-watering lunch, you will be asked to build a 4-degree-of-freedom robotic arm as Deus ex machine to solve a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story. Not so easy as it sounds, but super fun! Neverthless, you will acquire the ability to create didactic scenarios for teaching robotics.
Dinner will be enjoyed in the picturesque paved streets of the island’s capital, Fira.
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
DAY 9 / GREEK MYTHOLOGY - TALOS, THE FIRST ROBOT
OPEN HARDWARE, OPEN SOFTWARE II
Tutor: Kalovrektis (Dr)
We start our day with a refreshing morning swim before we proceed with our first lab session during which you will be picking up from where you left off yesterday. Today you will be programming your 4-DOF robotic arm into completing your desired tasks, all the while learning about the first documented robot, the fearsome Talos!
Dinner tonight will be a treat for the eyes and the heart. There is no better way to say our goodbyes than raising our glasses to the famous Santorini sunset at Oia. You will have your chance to discuss your best memories of the trip over a three-course dinner overlooking the Aegean Sea.
Breakfast Lunch Dinner
DAY 10 / DEPARTURE
All good things must come to an end. After 9 days of building robots and experimenting with STE(A)M, it is time to part our ways until the next time we meet again!
Whether it was the devastating eruption of the island’s volcano, the lost Atlantis or Talos that excited your imagination, your heart and mind will undoubtedly have been filled with new knowledge, stories, images, thoughts, sounds and flavors, and the abundant Greek kallos!
Breakfast
| Course code | ΤoG - 007 |
| Subject area: | Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics |
| Credits: | 10 credits/5 ECTS /2 US |
| Credit level: | 10 |
| Contact hours: | 64 |
| Academic eligibility: | 1 year of undergraduate study |
| Language requirements: | IELTS 6.5 (with a minimum of 5.5 in each component) or equivalent |
| Destinations in Greece: | Santorini |
| Tuition fee: | POA |
| Course length: | Ten (10) days |
| Course dates: | Flexible |
| Application deadline: | 12 weeks before the course starts |
Description
Birthplace of STEAM offers a pathway from Ancient Greece to contemporary inventions through the development of STEAM artifacts that will be presented as inquiry-based activities.
The purpose of this course is to explore, contact and live the places that gave birth to and spread Science and Maths in Greece.
Algorithms, analogue computers, mechanisms and other Ancient Greek inventions will all be introduced to participants without required previous knowledge in an educational and pedagogical context.
Participants will acquire first-hand experience of how Science and Technology shaped the ancient culture and influenced ancient history, all the while exploring how Mathematics were integrated with Art.
Designed to offer both indoor and outdoor learning experiences, the Course aims to provide participants with some understanding of the benefits, processes, and skills related to learning in the outdoors, without, though, training them as outdoor specialists.
Through practical exercises in curriculum planning and teaching in contexts, you will have the chance to experience education associated with monumental places and understand the inventions of ancient Greeks in order to increase the impact of your teaching, either as a teacher or as a parent, on ancient Greek inventions, Science and Technology.
Aspects of the course content are driven by participants’ unfolding curiosity about the technology, art, history, geography, culture, and religion that they encounter on their journeys through Greece.
Teaching
- A variety of teaching and learning approaches will be used, including but not limited to inquiry-based teaching and learning, hands on experiments, lectures, discussion seminars, workshop tasks, and outdoor activities, designed and delivered by the world acclaimed and highly specialized academic faculty of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and members of the Hellenic Education Society for STEM Education.
- The course will conclude with student-led outdoor teaching sessions.
- Even though the Course is designed to be taught primarily by the Course Organizer, other experts may occasionally contribute to onsite teaching.
- Teaching contact time is scheduled at 64 hours over 10 days comprising but not restricted to practical sessions, lectures, and workshops.
- Participants are expected to complete relevant readings and assignments in their own free study time.
- Participants will spend a considerable amount of time learning, exploring, and teaching indoors and outdoors in both enclosed areas and green-space. Appropriate clothing and footwear is crucial.
- The ways in which theory and policy inform practice is a dominant theme of the course. This is reflected in the teaching and, in particular the three forms of assessment – all of which are inter-linked.
- The closing teaching session and essay at the end of the Course require participants to refer to available literature on indoor and outdoor learning, as well as national/state education policy documents.
Participants will have the opportunity to discuss their teaching assignment, pamphlet and written assignment with their course instructor and peers during formative feedforward tutorials.
Assessment
- Educational pamphlet (30%): Participants shall design and produce a 2-page educational pamphlet on one educational aspect of the Course (1000 words equivalent)
- Outdoor teaching session (30%): In pairs, Participants shall plan, facilitate and evaluate a short outdoor lesson (accompanied by a lesson plan and risk management plan; 1000 words equivalent)
- Essay (40%): Participants will deliver an academic paper outlining the theoretical underpinning of the lesson and a critical reflection on the teaching performance (1500 words).
Participants will have the opportunity to discuss their teaching assignment, pamphlet and written assignment with their course instructor and peers during formative feedforward tutorials.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Course, Participants will have acquired:
- An understanding of the concept of computational thinking,
- An understanding of how Computational Thinking affects Computer Science, as well as Art and Mathematics,
- Good knowledge on how to create didactic scenarios for their courses through STEAM,
- Deep knowledge of Greek mythology through STEAM,
- Good knowledge of the ancient Greek philosophers and scientists that laid the foundations of Mathematics,
- An appreciation for new ideas, methods and ways of thinking for their cognitive domains,
- Good knowledge and understanding of the architecture of Arduino platform,
- Good knowledge and understanding of how to use of sensors in developing STEAM education activities, in a simple and customizable way,
- Good knowledge and understanding of how to use actuators in developing STEAM education activities,
- Good knowledge and understanding of how to develop education robotics,
- Good knowledge and understanding of how to use education robotics in teaching different disciplines,
- The ability to search for, evaluate and use information to develop their knowledge and understanding through STEAM,
- The ability to use STEAM to flexibly transfer their knowledge, learning, skills, and abilities to a different context,
- The ability to effectively use oral, written, and visual means to critique, negotiate, create, and communicate their understanding through STEAM,
- The ability to take responsibility for their own learning, and a commitment to continuous reflection, self-evaluation and self-improvement, and
- The ability to sustain intellectual interest and be academically curious.
Fees
The Course Fee is all inclusive and covers tuition costs, entrance fees to all venues, accommodation, full board and all transfers for the entire duration of the Course.
Full information on the Course itinerary, destinations and accommodation options can be found here.
A 20% deposit per Participant is required upon registration and no latter than 12 weeks before the Course starts. The deposit will be reclaimed towards the total Course Fee.
Please note that study in Greece may incur additional costs e.g. visa application fees.
Early bird rates, as well as special rates for academics of valued partner institutions apply (faculty members, researchers, students).
DAY 1 WELCOME
- Oia
Santorini
DAY 2 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTATIONAL THINKING & COMPUTATIONAL PEDAGOGY
- Santorini Art Factory Museum
- Fira
- Santorini
DAY 3 GREECE, THE BIRTHPLACE OF COMPUTATION IDEA I
- Akrotiri Excavation Site
- Museum of Prehistoric Thira
- Winery & vineyard
- Santorini
DAY 4 GREECE, THE BIRTHPLACE OF COMPUTATION IDEA II
- Caldera
- Palea Kammeni
- Thirassia
- Santorini
DAY 5 GREECE AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF STEAM
- Emporio
- Santorini
DAY 6 IMPLEMENTING AUTOMATION IN WINE PRODUCTION I
- Black volcanic beach
- Winery & vineyard
- Santorini
DAY 7 IMPLEMENTING AUTOMATION IN WINE PRODUCTION IΙ
- Prophet Elias Monastery
- Santorini
DAY 8 GREEK MYTHOLOGY – TALOS, THE FIRST ROBOT OPEN HARDWARE, OPEN SOFTWARE I
- Archaeological Museum of Thira
- Fira
- Santorini
DAY 9 GREEK MYTHOLOGY – TALOS, THE FIRST ROBOT OPEN HARDWARE, OPEN SOFTWARE IΙ
- Perissa
- Oia
- Santorini
DAY 10 DEPARTURE
We can customize your Short Course any way you want to ensure a most memorable Greek adventure!
Do not hesitate to request more information by dropping us a line here.
All Short Courses are taught by our expert NKUA professors in English, however they may be also offered in Greek, German, French, Italian, Russian and Romanian upon request.
Haven’t found what you are looking for?
Would you like to change the suggested itinerary to better suit your needs?
We can customize your Short Course any way you want to ensure a most memorable Greek adventure!
Too academic for you?
Why not experience the best Greece has to offer at a more leisurely pace from the comfort of your 4- and 5-star hotel, all the while our expert professors guide you?
