“Wood Science Suitcase” Travels Around Latvian Schools
Ph.D. Daniela Godiņa, researcher at the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry, together with representatives of the Latvijas Koks, visits schools across Latvia to introduce students to exciting wood experiments and a practical learning kit – the “Latvijas Koks” Wood Science Suitcase — a practical kit for natural science experiments with wood.
This suitcase is complemented by a methodological teaching material titled “Wood Experiments for Grades 5–12,” designed for natural science, chemistry, and physics teachers. It includes:
descriptions of various experiments to be conducted together with students in class,
explanations linked to the national curriculum,
lesson plans and student worksheets.
The material helps students understand the composition, properties, and importance of wood in Latvia’s economy, making the learning process creative and practice-based.
The development of the teaching material involved experts from the Latvijas Koks, Latvijas valsts meži (Latvia's State Forests), Latvijas Finieris, the University of Latvia Interdisciplinary Centre for Educational Innovation, Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Institute, and the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry, with support from SIA “Troja” and SIA “Bio-Venta.”
The “Latvijas Koks” Wood Science Suitcase includes materials for 11 practical experiments in physics, chemistry, and natural sciences, using simple and easily accessible resources. To facilitate the teaching process, six instructional videos have been prepared to demonstrate each experiment step by step and explain the expected results.
On October 14, our researcher Daniela Godiņa, together with the “Latvijas Koks” team, visited Jelgava 4th Primary School and Aizupe Primary School, where students explored the properties of wood through hands-on experiments and observations.
