Introducing Kindregarten Children to Geological Science

Cilj rada je poticanje upoznavanja predškolske djece s geologijom kao sastavnim dijelom okoliša, točnije prirode koja nas okružuje. Na početku je dan kratak prikaz geologije kao prirodne znanosti, njezinog povijesnog razvoja te glavnih geoloških disciplina, posebno onih korištenih u radu. Zatim su prikazane dosadašnje aktivnosti među kojima su inozemna iskustva s geologijom u vrtiću te hrvatska iskustva s geologijom u osnovnoj školi, muzejima i posebno u vrtićima. Istraživanje je provedeno u Dječjem vrtiću „Iskrica“ u Zagrebu. U istraživanju je korišten geološki postav koji čine uzorci fosila, minerala i stijena. Cilj istraživanja je istražiti upoznavanje djece s geološkom znanošću, kao dijelom prirodnih znanosti. Istraživanje je provedeno na način da se kroz uvodna pitanja provjeri njihovo prethodno znanje, kroz aktivnosti ih se pokuša upoznati s geološkom znanošću te da se kroz kasnije aktivnosti provjeri njihovo potencijalno usvojeno novo znanje. Istraživanje je provedeno kroz dvije aktivnosti tijekom dva dana. Prva aktivnost je provedena na način da su djeca vođena svojim interesom pristupila geološkom postavu, čije su dijelove mogla uzimati, opipati i slično te ispitivala o njemu. Nakon toga djeca su radila s glinom i crtala. Druga aktivnost bila je zamišljena da se realizira kroz podučavanje, no djeca nisu dobro reagirala na tu metodu, te se od nje odustalo. Nakon toga je djeci pokazan postav kroz priču u kojoj su oni sudjelovali postavljanjem pitanja, predlaganjem uzoraka uključenih u priču itd. Nakon toga su također mogli pregledavati i opipavati geološki postav, kao i postavljati pitanja o njemu. Na kraju aktivnosti djeca su radila s glinom, crtala i igrala interaktivnu igru vezanu uz aktivnost i postav. Moglo bi se zaključiti da je moguće uspješno upoznati djecu s geologijom kao prirodnom znanošću. Također je vidljivo da je moguće upoznati djecu s takvom znanošću i kroz različite metoda rada. Osim geoloških tema korištenih u ovom radu i već ranije provedenih aktivnosti, teme bi se mogle i dalje proširiti.The aim of the paper is to encourage children's introduction to geology as an integral part of the environment, or more precisely, the nature that surrounds us. At the beginning there is a brief overview of geology as a natural science, its historical development and the main geological disciplines, especially those used in the paper. In addition to this, there is also a review of the activities that have been carried out, including international experiences with geology in kindergartens as well as Croatian experiences with geology in elementary schools, museums and especially in kindergartens. The research included in the paper was conducted in the kindergarten “Iskrica" in Zagreb. A geological display was used in the research, which was composed of samples of fossils, minerals and rocks. The goal of the research is to explore the children’s introduction to geological science as a part of natural sciences. The research has been carried out by examining their prior knowledge through introductory questions, trying to introduce them to geological science through activities and then checking their potentially newly adopted knowledge through further activities. The research was conducted through two activities over two days. The first activity was carried out in such a way that the children approached the geological display lead by their own interest and asked questions about the collection, whose parts they could also take, touch etc. After that, the children worked with clay and drew. The second activity was conceived to be conducted through teaching, but the children did not react well to this method so it was abandoned. Following that, the display was shown to the children accompanied by a story, in which they participated by asking questions, suggesting which samples should be included in the story, etc. In addition to this, they could also browse and touch the geology display as well as ask questions about it. At the end of the activity, the children worked with clay, drew and played an interactive game on the subject of the activity and the display. It can be concluded that it is possible to successfully introduce children to geology as a natural science. It is also evident that it is also possible to introduce children to such a science using different work methods. Except for the geological themes used in this paper and the already carried out activities, these themes can be further expanded